Iran Warns US Over Any Action Against Critical Infrastructure
Tehran - BORNA - Amir Saeid Iravani stressed in the letter that the United States bears full international responsibility for any consequences arising from this unlawful threat, as well as any actions taken in its implementation.
The text of the letter reads as follows:
“Upon instructions from my Government, and further to our previous correspondence regarding the continued acts of aggression and the unjustified and unprovoked war launched by the United States and the Israeli regime against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic of Iran, I hereby urgently draw your attention and that of the members of the Security Council to the explicit and unlawful threat issued by the President of the United States to target civilian objects and critical infrastructure in Iran.
In the late hours of Saturday, March 21, 2026, the President of the United States, in a public message on social media, declared that should the Islamic Republic of Iran fail to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours, the United States would, in his own words, ‘target and destroy Iran’s power plants,’ ‘starting with the largest of them.’
The deliberate targeting of electricity generation facilities, which are predominantly civilian in nature and vital to the survival of the civilian population, if carried out, would constitute a serious violation of international humanitarian law, including the fundamental principles enshrined in the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols. Such attacks are inherently indiscriminate and manifestly disproportionate, given the widespread, foreseeable, and long-term harm they would inflict on civilians, including disruption of essential services such as healthcare, water supply, public sanitation, and food security. Moreover, any such attack would amount to war crimes under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, including the intentional targeting of civilian objects and launching attacks with knowledge that they would cause excessive civilian harm in relation to the anticipated military advantage.
Responsibility and legal consequences arising from such grave crimes extend not only to their direct perpetrators, but equally to those who order, authorize, or incite them. In this context, the explicit, public, and unambiguous threat by the President of the United States constitutes clear evidence of intent and raises serious concerns regarding premeditation, thereby aggravating the legal responsibility of the United States. Accordingly, the United States bears full international responsibility for any consequences arising from this unlawful threat, as well as any actions taken in its implementation.
I therefore call upon Your Excellency and the members of the Security Council, in the exercise of their responsibilities under the Charter of the United Nations, to unequivocally and unambiguously condemn this unlawful threat of the use of force; to warn the United States of the serious consequences of any such unlawful action, including targeting critical infrastructure; to demand that the United States fully comply with its obligations under the Charter of the United Nations and international humanitarian law; and to take all necessary measures within their competence to prevent the realization of such unlawful acts.
The Islamic Republic of Iran, while warning of the catastrophic consequences of any such unlawful actions, once again emphasizes its inherent right of self-defense under Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations and reserves its right to take all necessary and proportionate measures to fully safeguard its sovereignty, territorial integrity, and vital national interests.
I would be grateful if you would have the present letter circulated as a document of the Security Council.”
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