Iran says death toll from US strikes rises to 55

The death toll from US attacks on Iran since June 27 has risen to 55 people, according to the country's Health Ministry on Thursday.

Hussein Kermanpour, head of the ministry's public relations and information center, said 629 people have also been injured, including 36 who remained hospitalized, while the rest have been discharged after receiving necessary medical treatment.

On Wednesday, Iranian authorities put the death toll from the ongoing US strikes at 53, with 592 others injured.

Regional tensions have escalated over the past two weeks after US President Donald Trump announced on July 8 that the ceasefire outlined in last month's US-Iran memorandum of understanding was no longer in effect.

Since then, the US and Iran have exchanged strikes, with Washington targeting sites inside Iran while Tehran says it has attacked US military facilities and equipment across several countries in the region.

The confrontation has disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, threatened global energy supplies and prompted intermittent airspace closures and growing warnings of attacks on US facilities and interests beyond the Middle East.