Iran's Forensic Chief has confirmed that at least 3,375 people have been killed since the country entered into conflict with Israel and the United States, offering what officials described as a final count. Abbas Masjedi, head of Iran's Legal Medicine Organisation, made the announcement on Monday, adding that only four of the dead have yet to be identified. Among those killed were 496 women and 383 children and minors, with the highest casualties recorded in the capital Tehran, the central city of Isfahan, and the coastal province of Hormozgan on the Persian Gulf.

However, the official figure may significantly undercount the true scale of the violence. Independent human rights groups have published substantially higher estimates: the Norway-based organisation Hengaw, which monitors rights conditions in Iran, reported that at least 7,650 people have been killed, including more than 1,000 civilians. Neither set of figures can be independently verified due to restricted access inside the country.

The death toll announcement came as a fragile two-week ceasefire, which took effect on 8 April and is due to expire on Wednesday, showed signs of unravelling. Iran's Foreign Ministry said it had not yet decided whether to participate in a second round of peace negotiations proposed by US President Donald Trump, who announced that a delegation led by Vice President JD Vance would travel to Islamabad, Pakistan, for talks. Tehran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused Washington of lacking sincerity, pointing to what Iran described as American violations of the truce — including an attack on a cargo vessel, a naval blockade of Iranian ports, and the situation in Lebanon. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Bakaei said the US was "not serious about diplomacy."

Preparations for a potential new round of talks have been under way in Islamabad for days, with Pakistan's diplomatic district, known as the Red Zone, placed under heightened security. A first round of negotiations concluded the previous week without concrete results. Meanwhile, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz — the narrow waterway at the mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a significant share of the world's oil passes — sent crude prices surging more than seven percent on Monday, with Brent crude approaching 97 dollars per barrel.

The conflict has also prompted a sharp increase in executions inside Iran. On Monday, two men, Mohammad Masum-Shahi and Hamed Walidi, were put to death on charges of spying for Israel's Mossad intelligence service. Iranian authorities convicted them under charges including "collaboration with hostile groups" and Moharebeh — an offence under Sharia law meaning "enmity against God" — which carries the death penalty. Rights monitors note that Iran carries out more executions than any country in the world except China.