The council issued a statement, the full text of which is as follows:
The terrorist armed forces of the United States of America, continuing their policy of pressure, threats, and the use of force against the Islamic Republic of Iran, and in an action contrary to the fundamental principles of international law, have carried out a series of military attacks against various locations in Iran. These attacks, in addition to causing widespread destruction and extensive damage, have resulted in the killing and injury of a considerable number of Iranian citizens.
The High Council for Human Rights of the Islamic Republic of Iran strongly condemns these acts of military aggression and considers the silence and inaction of certain international organizations and self-proclaimed human rights advocates in response to these actions regrettable, and yet another indication of the double standards and selective approach to the concept of human rights and the rules of international humanitarian law.
Among these attacks, one of the most shocking and inexplicable incidents was the attack on a residential house in the port of Kuhestak, Sirik County, Hormozgan Province; a place where a wedding ceremony was being held at the time of the attack and a group of civilians, including women and children, were present.
According to official reports, the attack has so far resulted in the martyrdom of 5 people, including at least one young child, and the injury of 68 people. Published reports also indicate that a significant number of the injured are women and children.
What happened in Kuhestak Port is not simply a military incident or a side event in the course of the conflict; rather, if the facts on the ground and the absence of a legitimate military objective are established, it is a serious example of a violation of the fundamental rules governing armed conflict and a direct attack on the right to life and security of civilians.
International humanitarian law, even in situations of war and armed conflict, has recognized the protection of civilians as a fundamental principle. Based on the principle of distinction, parties to the conflict are obliged at all times to distinguish between civilians and combatants, as well as between civilian and military objectives, and to direct their attacks only at military objectives. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has also emphasized the prohibition against direct attacks on civilians and civilian objects.
In addition to the principle of distinction, the principle of proportionality and the obligation to take all possible precautions during an attack are other fundamental rules of international humanitarian law. The United Nations has also stated that parties to the conflict are obliged to distinguish between civilians and military objectives, to refrain from attacks on civilians and civilian objects, and to take the necessary measures to minimize harm to the civilian population.
From a human rights perspective, the right to life is the most fundamental human right and no state or military force can simply subject it to violation. Even in situations of armed conflict, the use of force cannot be a license to ignore the lives of defenseless people.
This fundamental question remains before the international community and human rights institutions: what military necessity can justify an attack that targets a wedding ceremony and a gathering of civilians, killing or injuring dozens of people, including children?
The United States’ claim that it targeted military installations or objectives does not in itself negate its responsibility for the effects of attacks on the civilian population. The legitimacy of a military operation is measured not simply by the claim that there is a military objective, but also by observing the principles of distinction, proportionality, military necessity and the precautions necessary to prevent or minimize harm to civilians.
The High Council for Human Rights of the Islamic Republic of Iran emphasizes that the life of an Iranian child, a woman, a man, or any other civilian, regardless of citizenship, nationality, religion, or geographical location, has the same human value, and victims of an attack cannot be excluded from the scope of human rights protection based on political considerations.
From this perspective, the silence of some governments, international organizations, and human rights institutions regarding the killing and injury of Iranian civilians, especially children, is not only inconsistent with their claims about protecting human rights, but also poses serious questions to the credibility of the international system for protecting human rights and humanitarian law.
The High Council for Human Rights of the Islamic Republic of Iran, while strongly and firmly condemning the US attacks against the Islamic Republic of Iran, and especially the attack on the wedding ceremony in the Kuhestak port, Sirik, calls on the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Human Rights Council, the High Commissioner for Human Rights and other relevant international institutions to adopt a clear and responsible stance, condemn the violation of human rights and humanitarian rights and the attack on the lives of civilians, and to oblige the US government to comply with its international obligations and stop attacks on civilian areas and populations. It is also expected that international institutions, by avoiding double standards, support the right to life, human dignity and immunity of civilians, regardless of political and power-based considerations, as a universal and non-discriminatory principle, and emphasize the need to hold perpetrators of international law violations accountable.
The High Council for Human Rights of the Islamic Republic of Iran also emphasizes that the killing of a child in the arms of a family and the injury of dozens of citizens in a ceremony held to mark the beginning of a life together cannot and should not be lost amid the clamor of military and political calculations.
Today, more than ever, the world needs human rights to be removed from the monopoly of the political literature of great powers and to be a single standard to govern the behavior of all governments.
The right to life, human dignity, and the immunity of civilians are neither political privileges nor tools of pressure; they are fundamental and indiscriminate principles of human rights and international humanitarian law.
The High Council for Human Rights of the Islamic Republic of Iran, while expressing solidarity with the families of the martyrs of this crime and wishing a speedy recovery to the injured, emphasizes the need for accurate documentation of these attacks, legal and international pursuit of the responsibility of the perpetrators, and demanding accountability from the competent international authorities, and calls on all responsible institutions not to remain silent in the face of this series of violations and attacks against human life and dignity.