US-Israeli hostilities damage 125,000 Iranian civilian structures as Tehran alleges war crimes
Iran's Red Crescent Society on Friday attributed damage to more than 125,000 civilian structures across the Islamic Republic to US-Israeli military operations that began on February 28, 2026, as the nation's Human Rights Headquarters separately denounced the strikes as deliberate war crimes violating international humanitarian law.
Pirhossein Kolivand, president of the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS), detailed in a televised assessment that residential properties accounted for approximately 100,000 of the compromised units, with numerous dwellings entirely razed, while commercial establishments sustaining losses totaled 23,500.
Medical infrastructure bore significant brunt: 339 facilities, including Vali-Asr, Shahid Motahhari and Khatam hospitals alongside pharmacies, laboratories and emergency centers, incurred damage, though several resumed operations within 24 hours.
Educational institutions faced widespread disruption, with 32 universities and 857 schools damaged, alongside 20 Red Crescent facilities directly targeted during the 39-day period of intensified hostilities.
Critical infrastructure also suffered, comprising 15 strategic sites, five fuel depots, airports and civilian aircraft, while 49 rescue vehicles and 43 ambulances were struck during humanitarian operations.
Iran's Human Rights Headquarters, issuing a concurrent statement, condemned what it termed repeated and deliberate attacks by the United States and Israeli forces against civilian targets, including residential homes, hospitals, medical and relief centers, vital infrastructure, economic hubs, bridges and schools, as well as vessels and barges integral to livelihoods.
The office stressed such acts constitute a clear violation of fundamental humanitarian and legal principles, potentially amounting to war crimes under international law.
Referencing assaults on four fishing boats at Lengeh port and other civilian vessels set ablaze, the statement underscored direct breaches of the right to life, the right to work and the right to development.
It further cited threats by US President Donald Trump and War Secretary Pete Hegseth to return Iran to the "Stone Age" as evidence of intent to commit war crimes against civilian infrastructure.
The Human Rights Headquarters emphasized that the principle of distinction under international humanitarian law obliges all conflict parties to avoid targeting civilian persons and property, asserting that systematic attacks against ordinary citizens and vital development arteries represent gross violations.
It characterized US-Israeli practices as collective punishment breaching prohibitions on the threat and use of force under international law.
Tehran has forwarded documentation of alleged humanitarian law breaches to the International Criminal Court prosecutor and the International Committee of the Red Cross, which subsequently validated the submissions, while maintaining that legal accountability sufficed without requesting foreign assistance.
Volunteer ranks swelled by 1.6 million during the crisis, bolstering the organization’s pre-existing four-million-strong force, with pharmacies operating round-the-clock to ensure uninterrupted access to medicines.