Iran Says 71 Killed in Israeli Airstrike on Tehran’s Evin Prison
An Israeli airstrike on Evin Prison in Tehran on June 23 killed 71 people, according to Iranian judiciary spokesperson Asghar Jahangir, marking a deadly escalation in Israel’s military campaign targeting symbolic pillars of the Iranian regime.
The strike came at the end of a brief but intense air war between Israel and Iran, and marked a shift in Israel’s targeting strategy—from military and nuclear infrastructure to sites with deep political significance.
“In the attack on Evin Prison, 71 people were martyred,” Jahangir said on Sunday, as reported by the judiciary-affiliated Mizan News Agency.
He said the victims included prison staff, conscripts performing military service, detainees, visiting family members, and local residents living near the facility.
Aftermath and International Fallout
The judiciary confirmed earlier that the prison’s administrative wing was damaged in the strike, and that detainees had since been relocated to other facilities within Tehran Province.
Evin Prison is notorious for housing political prisoners, dissidents, and foreign nationals. Among the detainees are two French citizens, Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, who have been held in Iran for over three years.
In response to the attack, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot condemned the strike:
“The strike targeting Evin Prison put our citizens Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris in danger. It is unacceptable,” he posted on X.
