Iran releases death toll of Israel's Evin prison attack

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Dozens of staff members, two inmates and a bystander were the casualties of Israel's attack last week on Tehran's Evin prison, a notorious facility where many political prisoners and dissidents have been held. The death toll of the strike was released Sunday by Iran's judiciary and confirmed by human rights groups as the one-week mark of the ceasefire between Israel and Iran approaches, despite suspicions from both sides of whether the truce will hold. Judiciary spokesperson Asghar Jahangir posted on the office's official Mizan news agency website that at least 71 people were killed on Monday, including staff, soldiers, prisoners and members of visiting families. While officials did not provide a breakdown of the casualty figures, the Washington-based Human Rights Activists in Iran said that at least 35 were staff members and two were inmates. Others killed included a person walking in the prison vicinity and a woman who went to meet a judge about her imprisoned husband's case, the organization said. The June 23 attack, the day before the ceasefire between Israel and Iran took hold, hit several prison buildings and prompted concerns from rights groups about the safety of the inmates. It remains unclear why Israel targeted the prison, but it came on a day when the Defense Ministry said it was attacking "regime targets and government repression bodies in the heart of Tehran." The news of the prison attack was quickly overshadowed by an Iranian attack on a U.S. base in Qatar later that same day, which caused no casualties, and the announcement of the ceasefire. On the day of the attack, the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran criticized Israel for striking the prison, seen as a symbol of the Iranian regime's repression of any opposition, saying it violated the principle of distinction between civilian and military targets. Prison attack came near the end of 12 days of strikes Over the 12 days before a ceasefire was declared, Israel claimed it killed around 30 Iranian commanders and 11 nuclear scientists, while hitting eight nuclear-related facilities and more than 720 military infrastructure sites. More than 1,000 people were killed, including at least 417 of them civilians, according to the Washington-based Human Rights Activists group. In retaliation, Iran fired more than 550 ballistic missiles at Israel, most of which were intercepted, but those that got through caused damage in many areas and killed 28 people. Abbas Araghchi, Iran's foreign minister, said in a Saturday letter to United Nations officials that the international body should recognize Israel and the U.S. "as the initiators of the act of aggression" against Iran over the war and that their targeting of sovereign country and its people should require "compensation and reparation." "The Security Council should also hold the aggressors accountable and prevent the recurrence of such heinous and serious crimes to enable it to maintain international peace and security," Araghchi said in the letter obtained by The Associated Press. At the same time, advocates have said that Iran was legally obligated to protect the prisoners held in Evin, and slammed authorities in Tehran for their "failure to evacuate, provide medical assistance or inform families" following the attack. Jahangir said some of the injured were treated on-site, while others were taken to hospitals. Iran had not previously announced any death figures, though on Saturday, it confirmed that top prosecutor Ali Ghanaatkar — whose prosecution of dissidents, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi, led to widespread criticism by human rights groups — had been killed in the attack. He was one of about 60 people for whom a massive public funeral procession was held on Saturday in Tehran, and he was to be buried at a shrine in Qom on Sunday. Iran worries whether the ceasefire will hold While both Israel and Iran have been adhering to the truce, Iranian officials raised suspicions Sunday about whether the other side would continue to keep its word. Abdolrahim Mousavi, the chief of staff for Iran's armed forces, said in a conversation with Saudi Arabia's defense minister that the country is prepared if there were to be another surprise Israeli attack. "We did not initiate the war, but we responded to the aggressor with all our might, and since we have complete doubts about the enemy's adherence to its commitments, including the ceasefire, we are prepared to give them a strong response if they repeat the aggression," Mousavi said, according to Iranian state TV agency IRNA. It's unclear how much damage was done to the nuclear program Meanwhile, a lot remained unclear about the status of Iran's nuclear program, which incited the initial Israeli attack. U.S. President Donald Trump says American strikes "obliterated" the program while Iranians say that he's exaggerating. Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told CBS' "Face the Nation" in an interview set to air Sunday that Iran's capacities remain but it is impossible to know the timeline or access the full damage to the program unless inspectors are allowed in, which Iranian officials have not allowed. "It is clear that there has been severe damage, but it's not total damage, first of all. And secondly, Iran has the capacities there, industrial and technological capacities. So if they so wish, they will be able to start doing this again."