WANA (Mar 16) – Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman criticized European countries on the anniversary of Saddam Hussein’s chemical attack on Halabja, stating that their refusal to acknowledge their role in supplying Iraq with chemical weapons undermines their claims of supporting human rights and the rule of law.

 

In a post on social media platform X, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmail Baghaei wrote:

 

“Thirty-seven years ago today, the defenseless people of Halabja were subjected to a chemical bombing using weapons developed with technical and technological assistance from the U.S. and certain European countries. Tens of thousands of innocent people lost their lives or suffered permanent, excruciating injuries in this horrific war crime.”

 

Baghaei noted that Iranians, particularly the people of Sardasht and many Iranian military personnel and civilians exposed to Saddam’s chemical attacks during the eight-year war, deeply understand the suffering of Halabja’s victims.

 

Emphasizing that “truth” and “justice” remain the legitimate and enduring demands of the survivors of Saddam’s chemical attacks, he stated: “The passage of time cannot diminish the gravity of this crime or the demand for truth and justice.”

 

He concluded by asserting that as long as European nations involved in Iraq’s chemical weapons program evade accountability and refuse to acknowledge the truth, their claims of defending human rights and the rule of law will remain void of credibility.

 

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The Halabja Massacre occurred on March 16, 1988, during the closing stages of the Iran-Iraq War, when Iraqi forces under Saddam Hussein launched a chemical attack on the Kurdish city of Halabja in northern Iraq.

 

The attack, part of the Anfal Campaign, involved the use of mustard gas and nerve agents, killing an estimated 3,200 to 5,000 people and injuring thousands more. It was one of the deadliest chemical attacks against civilians in history and is widely considered a crime against humanity and genocide.