“All cases of attacks on civilians are being legally pursued based on the Geneva Conventions,” said the head of the Iranian Red Crescent Society.
The leader of the Iranian Red Crescent Society announced on Saturday that his organization has handed over proof of US-Israeli war crimes to the International Criminal Court and other international organizations, aiming to hold them accountable for extensive attacks on civilian infrastructure and various violations.
“The ICC prosecutor confirmed that the evidence submitted by the IRCS has been accepted as official,” stated Pir-Hossein Koulivand, head of the Iranian Red Crescent Society. “Legal actions are underway for all attacks against civilians in accordance with the Geneva Conventions.”
The IRCS reports that over 132,000 civilian buildings have been demolished across Iran by US and Israeli airstrikes, including hospitals, apartments, universities, research centers, and bridges. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to eliminate all of Iran’s bridges and power stations if its leaders do not comply with his administration’s demands during peace talks.
Luis Moreno Ocampo, the inaugural chief prosecutor of the ICC, noted earlier this month that Trump might face indictment if he carries out these threats.
“My suggestion: You read the indictment of the Russians, change the name, and it is very similar,” Ocampo remarked, referring to ICC arrest warrants issued this year against top Russian officials for alleged war crimes in Ukraine.
“Among the most bitter war crimes of America and Israel in Iran is the attack on the home of 19-month-old Helma in Tabriz, in which four members of her family were martyred,” the IRCS wrote Saturday. “The only survivor of this family is Helma.”
The ICC is responsible for investigating and prosecuting individuals accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other serious breaches of international law. Since Iran is not a signatory to the Rome Statute, which established the ICC, the court presently lacks jurisdiction over offenses committed on Iranian soil.
Human rights groups and activists have urged Iran to allow the ICC jurisdiction so it can pursue justice for abuses linked to the unlawful US-Israeli offensive that started on February 28. On the war’s first day, the US bombed a primary school in southern Iran.
“From the killing of over 150 students and teachers to strikes on hospitals full of newborns, every day more and more evidence emerges pointing to the commission of grave war crimes in Iran since the start of the war,” said Omar Shakir, executive director of DAWN. “Victims deserve justice. The mechanisms exist, and the US has no veto over them.”
Kenneth Roth, former head of Human Rights Watch, mentioned earlier this month that “the Iranian government could join the court now and grant it retroactive jurisdiction, similar to what Ukraine did to allow prosecution of Russian war crimes.”
Last month, the IRCS officially requested the ICC to open “an investigation into war crimes arising from attacks by the United States of America and the Israeli regime against civilian objects.”
“Based on reports from relief workers, operational records, and data gathered by the Iranian Red Crescent Society, numerous residential neighborhoods, healthcare facilities, schools, humanitarian centers, essential urban infrastructure, and public areas were either deliberately or indiscriminately targeted during recent military strikes,” the organization detailed in a letter to the ICC’s chief prosecutor.
Original article: commondreams.org
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