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Iran urges accountability for perpetrators of aggression against country
Iran’s mission to the United Nations in Geneva called for those responsible for the US and Israeli aggression against Iran to be held accountable, as the UN Human Rights Council opened its 63rd session.
The Iranian mission in a message on X said the council had a responsibility to address attacks against civilians and pursue the rights of victims and survivors of the US-Israeli acts of aggression which began on February 28.
The mission said that with the opening of the 63rd session, Iran is once again reaffirming its commitment to bringing the voices of victims and survivors of US and Israeli actions to the fore.
It said the Human Rights Council has a mandate to address violations of human rights and humanitarian law arising from conflicts, including “indiscriminate and deliberate attacks on infrastructure and civilian targets in Iran”.
It specifically referred to US’s military attacks on Iran’s southern cities of Minab and Lamerd on the first day of its aggression, saying such attacks in both cases constituted clear war crimes.
At least 168 civilians, mostly children, were killed following the US missile attack on Shajareh Tayyebeh Elementary School in Minab during the opening hours of the US-Israeli aggression against Iran. The US also targeted a civilian sports hall in the city of Lamerd in Fars Province, killing 24 innocent Iranians and injuring over 130 others.
Attacks on Iran’s tankers
Separately, Iran’s High Council for Human Rights said in a statement condemned recent attacks by the US against Iranian vessels in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, saying that the strikes are contrary to fundamental principles of international law, human rights standards and obligations relating to the preservation of international peace and security.
The statement said that under international humanitarian law, any military operation against civilian vessels, including oil tankers, while they were travelling through international shipping routes and the region’s strategic waterways constitutes a clear violation of the principle of distinction and is incompatible with human rights standards and obligations to maintain international peace and security.
The statement came days after the US Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees American military operations in the region, launched attacks on three Iranian tankers in the Persian Gulf and in the Gulf of Oman.
In response, Iran said on Sunday that it attacked a US naval drone trying to enter the Strait of Hormuz, hours after targeting ships in retaliation for American strikes on three oil tankers.
The tit-for-tat attacks came as the US has intensified its aggression against Iran in recent days, carrying out strikes on several locations across the country.
last week, US military bombed Iran’s Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz, killing three people. A day later, US launched missile attacks on different locations in southern cities, killing at least 12 people and wounding scores others. In response to the attacks, Iran’s Armed Forces launched a series of retaliatory missile and drone strikes against US military positions in Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain.