UN Probe Condemns US, Israeli, and Iranian Attacks as Violations of UN Charter Amid Human Rights Crisis

Tehran. A United Nations independent team investigating human rights violations in Iran has strongly condemned attacks carried out by the United States and Israel in Iran. In a statement issued on Wednesday, the UN mission clarified that these attacks, as well as Iran's retaliatory strikes across the region in response, violate the UN Charter.

The team concluded that these military actions violate the UN provision prohibiting the use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state. The UN fact-finding mission expressed deep shock over the bombing at the Shajareh Tayyebah Girls' School in Minab, southern Iran, on Saturday, the first day of the attacks. Preliminary reports indicate that more than 160 children aged between 7 and 12 were killed in that attack.

The UN noted that the Iranian people are currently caught between potentially long-lasting external military campaigns on one side and the repressive policies of their own government on the other.

Thousands of people have been arrested during the protests that began on December 28 over the economic crisis in Iran, and they are facing torture and the death penalty inside prisons. According to the UN team, the ongoing airstrikes further endanger the lives of these detained protesters.

A British couple held in Tehran's notorious Evin Prison reported their insecurity, stating that prison buildings shook and windows and doors were damaged due to explosions.

The mission commented that assassinations of dozens of Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, are not an acceptable means of achieving justice under international law. The UN statement mentioned that even though the Iranian government has a poor human rights record, killings carried out through the use of external military force and attacks resulting in civilian casualties do not gain legal legitimacy.