TEHRAN – The head of the Iranian Red Crescent Society, Pirhossein Kolivand, has condemned the recent US attacks on the country’s civilian facilities and infrastructure, urging the international community to conduct prompt, independent, impartial, and effective investigations to hold perpetrators accountable for their war crimes.

Documented reports and information received from reliable authorities highlight that these attacks have not only resulted in casualties and financial loss for civilians, but also targeted a wide range of properties, facilities, and vital infrastructures used by the public, Kolivand said in a statement, the IRCS website reported.

The US forces have deliberately targeted wheat storage facilities in Hoveyzeh, mineral water facility production in Musian, Dehloran, the desalination plant in the Bomani district, Sirik County, environmental protection station in Haji-abad, communication regulatory authority in Bandar Abbas, Kish harbor, Kish search and rescue station, fishing and commercial piers in Sirik county, fishing pier in Bandar Abbas, Hengam Island, telecommunication tower in Qeshm Island, the wastewater treatment plant at the Bandar Abbas Bird Garden, railways in Khorasan Razavi and Golestan, the fishing pier in Asaluyeh, Tohid-Jam airport, Semnan Airport, and facilities adjacent to Ahvaz hospital.

Attacks on civilian infrastructure, including water treatment facilities, food storage and distribution centers, ports, transport networks, communication systems, and environmental protection facilities, disrupt public access to essential services, which jeopardize fundamental rights such as the right to life, health, access to drinking water, food security, communication, and a healthy environment.

All these crimes had happened a few months into the US brutal attacks on Minab, martyring innocent children, parents, and teachers, which the US authorities have refused to shoulder the responsibility and its consequences. The issue has raised serious concerns over adherence to fundamental rules of IHL and the heightened risks facing the civilian population.

The statement underlines that under IHL, deliberate or indiscriminate attacks against civilians, civilian property, and facilities are prohibited. States and military forces are required to direct their military operations exclusively against military objectives, in accordance with the fundamental principles of distinction, proportionality, and precaution.

Referring to the US president’s recent statements threatening to bombard bridges and other civilian infrastructure, Kolivand underscored that the threats are a clear violation of fundamental requirements of IHL, international obligations of states, and exacerbate concerns over the safety and lives of civilians.

Recalling the obligation outlined in Common Article 1 of the 1949 Geneva Conventions, ‘to respect and ensure respect’ for IHL, the statement urges the states Parties to the Geneva Conventions, the United Nations, the UN Human Rights Council, the International Committee of the Red Cross, relevant international and regional organizations, and international civil society not to remain silent in the face of reports on alleged violations of IHL and to take effective measures to ensure compliance with the rules of IHL, the protection of civilians, and the safeguarding of civilian property and infrastructures.

US committing ‘heinous war crimes’ in Iran

Iran’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations said the US is committing “heinous war crimes” by the systematic targeting of the country’s civilian infrastructure.

In a letter to the UN Security Council and Secretary-General António Guterres, Amir Saeid Iravani detailed American strikes between July 8 and July 16, hitting southern provinces, coastal cities, and ports along the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.

“Owing to the Security Council’s continued failure to act, the United States continues its acts of aggression against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iran and perpetrates heinous war crimes against the Iranian people in blatant violation of the Charter of the United Nations, and international law, in particular international humanitarian law,” Iravani said.

He said American attacks targeted Bandar Abbas, Bushehr, Ahvaz, Chabahar, Konarak, Jask, Sirik, Iranshahr, Abu Musa Island, Greater Tunb Island, and in the early hours of July 16, the cities of Shiraz, Khorramabad, Semnan, Urmia, and Hamedan.

The letter stipulated that the bombings caused extensive damage to ports, transportation networks, communications facilities, logistics hubs, radar installations, coastal defense systems, and “other infrastructure indispensable to the civilian population.”

Dozens of people in Iran have lost their lives in the latest wave of US attacks.

Civilians, emergency responders, firefighters, park rangers, and fishermen are among those who have been killed.

Iravani pointed to President Donald Trump’s public statements, including a threat to strike Iran’s bridges and power plants.

Iran’s UN envoy underscored Trump’s admission regarding the bombardment of the country’s nuclear facilities, “If I wasn’t around, or Bibi (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu) wasn’t around, especially the combination, … they would have had a nuclear weapon within two weeks had I not hit them with a nuclear.”

“This statement exposes the dangerous mindset of the US president, reflecting utter contempt for the Charter of the United Nations, international law, and the most fundamental principles of humanity,” Iravani stressed.

Iravani urged the Security Council to “take immediate and effective measures to put an end to the US aggression, and to ensure accountability for all severe violations by the United States.”

“As long as the United Nations, in particular the Security Council, fails to fulfill its responsibilities for the maintenance of international peace and security, the Islamic Republic of Iran will continue to exercise all its rights under international law in order to protect its sovereignty, territorial integrity, people, and vital interests,” he stated.

The United States and Israel began their aggression against Iran on February 28. During 39 days of war, which was paused by a Pakistani-mediated ceasefire on April 8, they killed thousands of people most of them civilians.

The US has also violated a 14-point memorandum of understanding signed on June 17.

Iran has conducted retaliatory strikes against US military bases in the Persian Gulf region.

MT/MG