GENEVA - UN human rights experts* today condemned the unlawful military attacks launched by the United States of America and Israel against Iran.
"Unprovoked attacks by the US and Israel - launched amid diplomatic negotiations and without authorisation from the Security Council - violate the fundamental prohibition on the use of force, sovereign equality, territorial integrity, and the duty to peacefully settle disputes under Article 2 of the UN Charter. They also violate the right to life," the experts said.
They also expressed serious concern over Iran's retaliatory strikes across the Gulf and broader Middle East, reminding that any use of force in self-defence must meet the requirements of necessity and proportionality.
"We cannot pick and choose when international law applies. Unlawful military intervention is not a solution to the nuclear issue, countering alleged terrorism, or the human rights situation in Iran," the experts said. They warned that the strikes are part of a broader pattern of unlawful unilateral actions by the US and Israel destabilising the entire region including by causing the arbitrary displacement of thousands.
They also expressed concern about the multiple attacks launched by Israel on Lebanon, in clear and repeated violation of international law and the ceasefire agreement, displacing, injuring and killing civilians.
The experts called on all parties to immediately cease hostilities and resume diplomatic dialogue, stressing that there is no viable alternative to the peaceful settlement of disputes.
"These attacks do not strike military abstractions - they strike people," they said.
"Civilians are bearing the brunt of this war with their lives, their safety, their environment and their health. In a country that has already lost thousands to violent repression following the nationwide protests that began on 28 December 2025, these attacks deepen an already profound human tragedy."
The experts condemned the strike on a girls' primary school in Minab, Hormozgan Province, that has killed over 160 schoolgirls and injured many others. Attacks on other densely populated areas, the Iranian Red Crescent, and numerous other hospitals, including Tehran's Gandhi Hospital and Khatam al-Anbia Hospital, have also been reported.
"The targeting of civilians, educational facilities, and medical institutions constitutes a grave violation of international humanitarian law and human rights law," they said.
"Unlawful military intervention must not be seen as the solution to the grievances of the Iranian people, nor would any future nuclear deal that does not address these wider grievances be mistaken for one," the experts said. "Calls by the US and Israel for Iranians to seize control of their own government are reckless and put countless civilian lives at risk."
"Iranian authorities have weaponised Internet restrictions, with connectivity now collapsed to approximately 1 per cent of normal levels. During armed conflict, communications shutdowns isolate ordinary people, preventing them from understanding or documenting what is happening in their own country," they said.
The experts reiterated their call for the release of all those arbitrarily detained following the nationwide protests, as well as for disclosure of the fate and whereabouts of all those forcibly disappeared. Reports indicate that conditions inside some Iranian prisons have become critical, with wards being locked, and prisoners facing acute shortages of food and medical care. "Prison conditions, combined with the current telecommunications shutdown, place detainees at a heightened risk of serious human rights violations, with little prospect of outside scrutiny," they said. They expressed serious concern about the potential for a sharp rise in executions and the prosecution of individuals on national security grounds, including espionage charges targeting those perceived as having foreign connections or who have spoken out against the State.
The experts called for the immediate cessation of fighting. "Any path forward must be grounded in the rule of law, the will of the Iranian people, and full accountability for the violation of international law, by all parties," they said. "The rights, safety, and voices of the Iranian people must be placed at the centre of efforts to end this crisis, without external interference."
