Iran accuses US of ‘calculated’ assault on school

“ATROCITY”

“This atrocity cannot be justified, cannot be concealed, and must not be met with silence and indifference,” the minister said.

“The United States’ contradictory remarks aimed at justifying their crime could not, in any manner, elude their responsibility.”

Friday’s discussion, held at the request of Iran, China and Cuba, marked the second urgent debate before the rights council this week focused on the war in the Middle East.

On Wednesday, a debate requested by Bahrain on behalf of the Gulf Cooperation Council and Jordan, ended with the 47-member rights council adopting by consensus a resolution condemning Iran’s “egregious attacks” on its Gulf neighbours, calling for swift “reparation” to all victims of its strikes.

No draft resolution was discussed during Friday’s debate, but countries lined up to condemn the school strike and the Middle East war more broadly.

Chinese ambassador Jia Guide slammed the United States and Israel for launching their attacks on Iran “without authorisation of the Security Council, which is the root cause of this tragedy”.

Cuban ambassador Rodolfo Benitez Verson called for “an independent and impartial investigation” into the school strike, which he labelled a “war crime”.

The United States and Israel have both disengaged from the council, and did not speak during the debate.

Turk and several countries also raised the issue of Tehran’s reported growing crackdown on rights at home since the start of the conflict.

“The people of Iran are caught between conflict and repression,” the UN rights chief warned.

“War does not reduce the responsibility of the Iranian authorities to abide by their human rights obligations,” he added.