Jean Arnault, UN Special Envoy for the Middle East, met with Pir Hossein Kolivand, President of the IRCS today, discussing the war crimes and damages on civilian areas during U.S.-Israel airstrikes on Iran.
At the meeting, which was attended by officials, relief workers, and a large number of representatives from mass media, Dr. Kolivand presented the latest statistics on the damage inflicted on civilian areas and facilities, stating: “So far, six weeks into this war, 857 schools and educational facilities, 338 hospitals, clinics, and emergency centers, 49 relief logistics facilities, 43 ambulances, 20 Red Crescent centers, and three Red Crescent helicopters have been hit by missiles, damaged, or destroyed.”
The President of the Iranian Red Crescent said that four aid workers were killed and many others injured while carrying out search‑ and rescue and relief missions for the affected people during humanitarian operations in this war.
Mr. Kolivand, elaborated the various aspects of war crimes in the attacks, saying you certainly have laws that, under all circumstances, prohibit attacks on these areas and classify targeting them as war crimes. Yet those who enact these laws are the very ones who violate them.
He emphasized that the Iranian Red Crescent Society, as an independent institution, has submitted and reported its documentation and observations of these crimes to the United Nations (UN), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the International Criminal Court (ICC), and all relevant international bodies.
Mr. Kolivand presented a map of the targets struck in civilian, residential, and commercial areas, along with videos showing Red Crescent rescuers saving people trapped under the rubble, to the UN Special Envoy.
While showing a video of consecutive airstrike explosions near Khatam al‑Anbiya Hospital in Tehran, depicted the panic of patients and the efforts of nurses and medical staff to evacuate them and transfer newborns out of the hospital, the President of the Red Crescent stated that at the time of these attacks, 21 patients were simultaneously undergoing cardiac surgery, and 16 operating rooms were active, and that the hospital sustained damage comparable to a 7.5‑magnitude earthquake.
He stressed: “How long must international organizations remain silent in the face of these crimes? We provided humanitarian assistance under these conditions. Who can challenge these documents? I ask you, since you have come here and are witnessing these events firsthand, to awaken the consciences of the world and fulfill your legal responsibilities, as well as those of other organizations.”
During the meeting, the President of the Iranian Red Crescent Society presented additional videos of the Society’s relief and rescue operations amid the rubble created by the recent imposed war to the UN Envoy.
Dr. Kolivand stated clearly: “Be the voice of the suffering of the Iranian people. I urge you, and all international organizations, to take action to uphold the rights of those who have lost their lives in this war.”