Araghchi Urges UN Action Over “War Crimes” in Letter to Global Leaders
Tehran - BORNA - Seyed Abbas Araghchi, Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in a letter addressed to António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations — a copy of which was sent to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and to foreign ministers of countries around the world — explained Iran’s positions regarding the commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity by the United States and the Israeli regime during the military aggression against Iran.
The full text of the letter reads as follows:
In the Name of God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful
His Excellency Mr. António Guterres
Secretary-General of the United Nations
I wish hereby to bring to your attention the latest war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the United States and the Israeli regime against innocent civilians in Iran, which constitute blatant violations of international law, international humanitarian law, and human rights law.
Since the beginning of the new round of unprovoked and unjustified aggression by the United States and the Israeli regime against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic of Iran on 28 February 2026, numerous military attacks have been carried out against civilian targets, including schools, hospitals, relief equipment and personnel. These attacks have resulted in the killing of dozens of innocent civilians, including women and children, and the injury of many more. Such acts are clear instances of war crimes and crimes against humanity and require immediate action by the United Nations to halt these crimes and bring the perpetrators to justice.
On the first day of the aggression, the deliberate and indiscriminate destruction of an elementary school in Minab, a small city in Hormozgan Province, in broad daylight led to the killing of 165 innocent schoolgirls, whose bodies were recovered from beneath the rubble after hours of rescue operations. Similar attacks on the same day in other cities, including eastern Tehran and Abyek in Qazvin Province, also resulted in the deaths of additional students. This series of widespread and systematic attacks against the civilian population clearly falls within the definition of crimes against humanity.
On 1 March 2026, Red Crescent buildings, Gandhi Hospital, Motahari Hospital, and Khatam al-Anbiya Hospital in Tehran, Abu Zar Hospital in Ahvaz, and three emergency bases in the cities of Sarab, Chabahar, and Hamedan, along with several residential buildings in northern Tehran, were targeted. On the morning of 2 March 2026, missiles were fired at a densely populated residential area in Sanandaj, Kurdistan Province, in western Iran. The exact number of casualties resulting from these attacks is still under review.
Beyond the long list of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the United States and the Israeli regime against the people of Iran, the deliberate targeting of civilian sites — particularly schools, relief centers, and residential areas — constitutes a grave violation of the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law and a blatant disregard for the most basic humanitarian considerations regarding the right to life of civilians.
In light of the ongoing crimes committed in the course of this aggressive and brutal action by the United States and the Israeli regime, the Islamic Republic of Iran firmly calls upon the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Security Council, and other relevant international bodies to take immediate, concrete, and effective measures to condemn these heinous attacks, prevent the continuation of these crimes, and assist in bringing their perpetrators to justice.
Please arrange for this letter to be circulated as an official document of the Security Council.
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