In a letter to UN Secretary General António Guterres and President of the UN Security Council Zenon Ngay Mukongo on July 17, Saeed Iravani detailed the latest US military strikes across Iran's southern Hormozgan Province, saying the attacks killed and wounded civilians, destroyed key transportation infrastructure, and disrupted emergency response and commercial activities.
He also urged the Security Council to fulfill its responsibility under the UN Charter by ending the US aggression and ensuring accountability, while reaffirming Iran's right to take all necessary measures to defend its sovereignty, territorial integrity, and people.
What follows is the text of the letter:
In the Name of God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful
Excellencies,
Upon instructions from my Government, and further to my previous letters concerning the continued acts of aggression committed by the United States of America against the Islamic Republic of Iran, including in the letter dated 16 July 2026, I wish to draw the urgent attention of the Security Council to the continued and unabated violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iran. Regrettably, owing to the Council's continued inaction, the United States is perpetrating further acts of aggression and committing war crimes against the Iranian people in flagrant violation of the Charter of the United Nations and international law, in particular international humanitarian law.
In this connection, I wish to inform you that, in the continuation of the United States' ongoing war crimes involving the deliberate targeting of civilians and civilian objects, including critical civilian infrastructure, in the late hours of Thursday, 16 July, and the early hours of Friday, 17 July 2026, the United States carried out a series of extensive military strikes targeting multiple locations across Hormozgan Province. These unlawful attacks have resulted in significant civilian casualties and the systematic destruction of critical transportation infrastructure indispensable to the survival and daily life of the civilian population.
The attacks heavily targeted the Bandar Abbas-Lar communication route and the Kahurestan area of Bandar Khamir, resulting in the destruction of several major bridges. Tragically, following the destruction of one such bridge, a civilian vehicle plummeted from the damaged structure, resulting in the martyrdom of seven civilians and the injury of nine others. Furthermore, a deliberate strike on the Tappe Allah Akbar neighborhood of Bandar Abbas resulted in the martyrdom of one civilian and injuries to eight others. Field reports also confirm explosions in the vicinity of Masan village on Qeshm Island, alongside projectile impacts in areas of Bandar Lengeh and Sirik.
Civilian railway infrastructure was also subjected to direct military strikes. The Bandar Abbas railway station, which serves as a primary railway junction in southern Iran connecting to the Shahid Rajace port, and forms a crucial node of the International North-South transport corridor, was targeted by United States forces. This attack caused structural damage to the station, injured two individuals, and forced the Iranian Railways Administration to impose restrictions on the movement of passenger trains along this route. Official reports from the competent provincial authorities have confirmed that the strikes destroyed specific civilian structures, including the Gariveh Bridge on the Bandar Abbas-Bandar Khamir-Lar route, the bridge situated after Latidan village on the return route, two bridges on the Kahurestan-Lar route, an unfinished bridge on the Bandar Khamir-Keshar-Bandar Abbas road, and the bridge in Maru village within Bandar Khamir. Consequently, local authorities have been forced to divert civilian traffic to alternative routes in order to maintain access for emergency rescue teams, police forces, and firefighters. The systematic targeting of this vital infrastructure has severely disrupted commercial activities, civilian livelihoods, and emergency response operations, constituting a grave breach of international humanitarian law.
I further, regretfully and with profound sorrow, inform you that, according to the Ministry of Health of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the cumulative casualties resulting from the United States' military actions since the beginning of July 2026 now exceed 400 wounded. As of 06:30 a.m. on 17 July 2026, 43 Iranian nationals have been martyred. Confirmed statistics indicate that among the casualties are three women and one child who were martyred, alongside 22 women and 9 minors injured. Currently, 47 individuals remain hospitalized in critical condition.
The Islamic Republic of Iran condemns, in the strongest possible terms, these heinous, ongoing, and escalatory acts of aggression by the United States, and the deliberate targeting of civilian infrastructure which has resulted in civilian casualties. Such actions constitute a flagrant violation of Article 2(4) of the Charter of the United Nations, the fundamental principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity, and the prohibition of the threat or use of force. The repeated targeting of civilian objects, notably critical transportation and railway networks, are war crimes. I should stress once again that the United States bears full international responsibility for all loss of life, injury, infrastructural destruction, environmental degradation, and all subsequent consequences arising from its internationally wrongful acts.
The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran reiterates that the unabated commission of these unlawful armed attacks poses a grave and imminent threat to international peace and security, freedom of navigation, regional stability, and the security of the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz. In light of the foregoing, Iran urgently renews its call upon the Security Council to discharge its primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security under the Charter, and to take immediate, effective measures to put an end to the U.S. aggression, and to ensure accountability for all severe violations by the United States.
Lastly, my Government reaffirms that, in the continued absence of effective action by the United Nations and the Security Council, the Islamic Republic of Iran reserves its inherent right under international law to take all necessary measures to protect its sovereignty, territorial integrity, people, and vital national interests.
I should be grateful if you would have the present letter circulated as an official document of the Security Council.
Please accept, Excellencies, the assurances of my highest consideration.