TEHRAN – Mario Moreira, President of the Pasteur Network, has expressed concern over the destruction of Pasteur Institute of Iran, targeted by the US-Israeli airstrikes on April 2, and warned of the potential regional impacts as it disrupts the major role of this century-old pillar of global health in prevention and control of existing and rising health threats in the region. 

“The reported damage to the Pasteur Institute of Iran is deeply concerning. This institution plays an important role in supporting the health of populations in Iran and the region. When such capacities are disrupted, diagnostics, surveillance, and response to ongoing and emerging threats may be affected, with potential implications for health security beyond national borders,” Moreira highlighted.

International scientific reporting, including coverage in Science Magazine, has highlighted the effects of escalating hostilities on universities and research institutions in Iran, including impacts on academic and public health infrastructure.

The Pasteur Network is an alliance of 32 organisations which plays a crucial role in tackling global health challenges through science, innovation and public health. Its distinctive strength lies in the diversity and extensive geographic reach of its membership, spanning 25 countries across five continents and united by shared values and missions for the benefit of populations, fostering a dynamic community of scientific knowledge and expertise that is both locally embedded and globally connected.

Founded in 1920, the Pasteur Institute of Iran is a longstanding member of the Pasteur Network. The Institute contributes to national, regional and global public health through its national reference laboratories, WHO Collaborating Centers, disease surveillance and diagnostics, biobanks, and essential medical countermeasures production.

Damage to or disruption of such infrastructure may have consequences beyond national borders. When public health institutes and surveillance systems are affected, outbreak detection capacity can be reduced, essential public health functions may be disrupted, and preparedness for emerging infectious threats may be weakened. These challenges are directly linked to broader considerations of regional and global health security.

The protection of health and scientific institutions is widely recognized as important for safeguarding essential public health functions, particularly in times of crisis. Maintaining the continuity of such institutions supports not only national health systems but also collective efforts to prevent and respond to cross-border health threats.

The Pasteur Network notes the increasing international attention to the protection of health and scientific institutions and commends the efforts of the Pasteur Institute of Iran’s staff to maintain essential diagnostic and public health functions under challenging circumstances.

The Pasteur Network expresses its support for its colleagues at the Pasteur Institute of Iran and reaffirms its commitment to the continuity of critical public health functions, scientific cooperation and the protection of health and research institutions worldwide.

After US-Israel coalition targeted, Pasteur Institute of Iran, the country’s oldest medical research centre, the country’s oldest medical research centre, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), warned that the conflict in Iran, and the region, is impacting the delivery of health services and the safety of health workers, patients, and civilians present at health facilities.

“Multiple attacks on health have been reported in the Iranian capital, Tehran, in recent days amid the escalating conflict in the Middle East. 

The Pasteur Institute in Iran sustained significant damage and was rendered unable to continue delivering health services,” he wrote on X on April 3.

“The Institute was established in 1920 and has been operating for over a century in multiple areas of medical research. It plays an important role in protecting and promoting population health, including in emergencies. Two of its departments have been working with WHO as collaborating centres.”

Meanwhile, President Masoud Pezeshkian called on international health organizations and doctors worldwide to respond to what he described as a “crime against humanity” following attacks on medical facilities in Iran.

“What message does attacking hospitals, pharmaceutical companies and the Pasteur Institute (of Iran) as a medical research center in Iran convey?” Pezeshkian wrote on X.

“As a specialist physician, I urge WHO, the Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders and physicians worldwide to respond to this crime against humanity,” he added.

In a separate statement, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei condemned the strike as “heartbreaking, cruel, despicable, and utterly outrageous.”

“The American-Israeli aggressors have attacked the Pasteur Institute of Iran — the oldest and most prestigious research and public health center in Iran and the entire Middle East, founded in 1920 through an agreement between the Pasteur Institute of Paris and the Iranian government,” Baghaei said on X.

In addition to Pasteur Institute of Iran, other health infrastructures we’re destroyed during illegal strikes. The Delaram Sina Psychiatric Hospital sustained significant damage due to a strike on 29 March, and the Tofigh Daru pharmaceutical facility, which produced medicines for treating cancer and multiple sclerosis, was damaged in another attack on 31 March. No casualties were reported from these incidents. 

Since March 1, WHO has verified over 20 attacks on health care in Iran, resulting in at least nine deaths, including that of an infectious diseases health worker and a member of the Iranian Red Crescent Society. 

Attacks on health have also been recorded outside Tehran, including on March 21, when an explosion nearby Imam Ali Hospital in Andimeshk, Khuzestan province, led to the facility’s evacuation and cessation of services. 

The conflict in Iran, and the region, is impacting the delivery of health services and the safety of health workers, patients, and civilians present at health facilities. Peace is the best medicine.”