Iran has accused the United States of committing a “cowardly war crime” with the attack near a children’s cancer hospital and compared its actions to it Israel’s target of health facilities in Gaza.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said in a post on Thursday
Recommended Stories
List of 3 itemsEnd of the list
A doctor at the treatment center told reporters the explosion was “strong” and “so close” that they thought the hospital had been hit.
“This barbaric attack, reminiscent of Israel’s atrocities against health facilities, caused great suffering and fear among hospitalized children and forced emergency evacuation,” Baghaei said.
“This represents a cowardly war crime against the most innocent people – children who are bravely fighting for their lives.”
Dr. Majid Bou’azar, head of the hospital, told Al Jazeera that the 211 patients were “forced to relocate” due to the strikes.
“These are special patients, including cancer patients, who are being treated at the hospital here… Some of the patients were on oxygen and ventilators,” another staff member told Al Jazeera. “Some people had children in their arms, some had IVs in their hands and some were in wheelchairs.”
Previously, hospital director Reza Bazar said US attacks on the city of Ahvaz had put the hospital out of action, the Fars news agency reported.
The attacks have heightened concerns that the war could spiral out of control and significantly delay a negotiated settlement to permanently end the conflict that began nearly five months ago.
“Bitter memory” of Minab attack
The US did not comment on the hospital strike but said it had triggered another strike Attack wave on the topic of Iran on Thursday. Tehran, meanwhile, said it had attacked U.S. military sites in Jordan and Kuwait as Gulf leaders remained on high alert over fears the fighting could potentially reach catastrophic proportions.
President Donald Trump has threatened to attack Iranian power plants and bridges next week if Tehran does not return to talks. Iran has warned that it will respond with attacks on civilian infrastructure in neighboring Gulf states.
Intentional attacks on civilian infrastructure are illegal under international law and, in most cases, constitute a war crime.
Iran’s Baghaei condemned what Iran calls a double standard, whereby countries in the global south are expected to abide by international law in armed conflict while those in the global north openly threaten to commit war crimes.
“Those who continually preach human rights while deliberately turning a blind eye to attacks on hospitals and health centers have lost every shred of moral credibility,” he said.
His comments were echoed by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who accused Washington of “war crimes” in a post on Telegram on Thursday. Araghchi condemned US attacks on civilian infrastructure as “undoubtedly a blatant violation of the United Nations Charter and the fundamental principles of international law.”
Tehran is also accused of violating the laws of war. Saudi Arabia previously described Iran’s attacks in Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait as “insidious.” Iran insists it only targeted US military installations. However, there is evidence that Iranian attacks have also damaged civilian infrastructure in the Gulf states.
Al Jazeera’s Resul Serdar, reporting from Tehran, said Iranian officials reported that 17 hospitals were badly damaged during the current war and the previous conflict in June last year.
“This hospital (in Ahvaz) was designed for children with cancer, so an attack near this hospital reminds Iranians of the bitter memory of Minab Elementary School,” he said, referring to the hospital School In southern Iran, the US and Israel bombed at least 168 children on the first day of the war.
There is evidence that the United States was responsible for the attack, and Democratic senators are urging the Trump administration to release the results of an investigation into the incident within the next week.
Amnesty International concluded that Washington was responsible, saying it was at best “a shameful intelligence failure” and at worst “a reckless and indiscriminate attack.”
