Iran FM Spokesman: US Threats to Civilian Sites Violate Geneva Conventions

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei has condemned US threats to attack civilian infrastructure, calling them a clear violation of the Geneva Conventions and international humanitarian law. In a post on his X account on Wednesday, marking the anniversary of the adoption of the four Geneva Conventions in 1949, Baghaei said that US threats to target infrastructure, bridges, and power plants undermine fundamental principles of international humanitarian law.

Baghaei wrote: "Today, 12 August, marks the anniversary of the adoption of the four Geneva Conventions in 1949—the core international treaties that established the most essential rules of the law of armed conflict, namely 'humanity', 'distinction', 'military necessity', 'proportionality', and the prohibition of 'unnecessary suffering' in order to civilize humanity and humanize war."

He expressed astonishment that in 2026, seventy-seven years after the adoption of these instruments, the United States, as the host nation of the United Nations and a permanent member of the Security Council, would repeatedly threaten to attack the infrastructure, bridges, and power plants of another country, and would in fact commit such crimes. He called on the international community, States Parties to the Geneva Conventions, and Switzerland as the depositary of these instruments not to remain indifferent to such unprecedented violations, which constitute clear war crimes.

Baghaei emphasized that Common Article 1 of the Geneva Conventions obligates states not only to respect the conventions but also to "ensure respect" for them. He warned that silence in the face of explicit threats against civilian objects is not mere political passivity but the erosion of one of the most fundamental civilizational and legal achievements of the post-World War II era.

He further stated: "Wherever the law falls silent before power, what collapses is not merely a bridge or a power plant, but humanity's confidence in the possibility of the rule of law in international relations. If the threat to destroy civilian infrastructure becomes normalized in international affairs, no state can any longer feel secure about the inviolability of its hospitals, electricity grids, bridges, water facilities, or other vital arteries against external aggression. This is not merely a threat against one government; it is a regression of the entire legal order that humanity has built in its pursuit of civilization and the restraint of violence."

The remarks come amid heightened tensions between the United States and Iran, with reports of US-Israeli aggression on Iran's infrastructure. According to Mehr News Agency, Baghaei's comments were made in the context of these threats and the broader international legal framework.