US strikes on five Iranian provinces over the past two days killed at least 14 people and injured 78 others, the Iranian Health Ministry said Thursday.

“The United States targeted five provinces of Iran with attacks on July 8 and 9,” Hossein Kermanpour, head of the ministry's Public Relations and Information Center, wrote in a post on the US social media company X.

He said the strikes had so far resulted in 14 deaths and 78 injuries.

According to the ministry, 47 of the injured remain hospitalized, while the remaining victims have been discharged after receiving medical treatment.

Three of the victims were killed in a strike near the southwestern city of Ahvaz, according to Iran's state news agency IRNA, which cited Valiollah Hayati, Khuzestan province's deputy governor for security affairs.

The latest casualty figures come amid renewed hostilities between the US and Iran following the collapse of a fragile ceasefire reached last month.

The escalation began after the US accused Iran of attacking three commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, prompting Washington to launch successive waves of strikes on Iranian military targets along Iran's southern coast.

US Central Command said the operations targeted more than 170 military sites over two days, including air defense systems, coastal surveillance assets, missile and drone infrastructure, naval capabilities and facilities belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, saying the strikes were intended to deter further attacks on international shipping.

Iran has responded with drone and missile attacks targeting what it says are US military facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait.

Iran and the US reached a Pakistan-brokered memorandum of understanding on June 17 aimed at ending their military conflict and paving the way for a lasting peace agreement.

However, on Wednesday, US President Donald Trump declared that the memorandum was "over," effectively ending the agreement and triggering a new round of military confrontation. (AA)

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