TEHRAN – The Iranian Red Crescent Society has urged the International Committee of the Red Cross to take more practical measures to protect humanitarian facilities and assets and prevent further violence that would interrupt the provision of relief services during the US-Israeli assaults against Iran.

Subsequent to an airstrike that targeted an IRCS warehouse in Bushehr province on April 3, the IRCS head, Pirhossein Kolivand, sent a letter to the ICRC president, Mirjana Spoljaric Egger, voicing deep concern over the gross violation of the fundamental principles of International Humanitarian Law (IHL). 

“On Friday, April 3, at approximately 05:30 a.m., the central warehouse of the Iranian Red Crescent Society in Choghadak county, Bushehr province, was subjected to an airstrike, resulting in extensive damage.

This facility, as a critical component of our operational support for relief and rescue activities, has been used exclusively for humanitarian purposes, including the storage of relief items and support for victims of disasters and emergencies, and has no military function whatsoever. 

Nonetheless, the attack has caused significant damage to the infrastructure, equipment, and operational capacity of our Society in the region.

Preliminary assessments indicate that several emergency and logistical vehicles have been damaged.

Other essential support infrastructure, including a temporary (mobile) base, caretaker’s residence, guardhouse, and a water tank, has suffered considerable damage.”

The official went on to underscore the fundamental principles of IHL—particularly the principles of distinction between civilian and military objectives, proportionality, and precaution in attack—according to which all parties to a conflict are obliged, under all circumstances, to refrain from targeting civilians and civilian objects, including humanitarian facilities and assets. 

Highlighting that pursuant to the 1949 Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols, National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, as neutral and humanitarian entities, are entitled to special protection, and any attack on their facilities, vehicles, or personnel constitutes a serious breach of these rules.

“The attack on this humanitarian facility has not only caused physical damage but has also severely impaired our capacity to respond to the urgent needs of affected populations, thereby amplifying the potential human consequences beyond the immediate incident.”