WANA (Apr 21) – The High Council for Human Rights of the Islamic Republic of Iran has issued a statement strongly condemning the deliberate attacks by the Israeli regime and the United States against a wide range of Iran’s religious, cultural, and historical sites during recent military aggression.

 

Targeting Religious Minorities

The Council stated that these attacks represent a complete disregard for international norms and reveal a “sinister intent” to eliminate the identity symbols of religious minorities in Iran. The statement emphasized that these minorities have historically enjoyed their right to worship within the framework of law and mutual respect.

 

Violations of International Conventions

The statement specifically highlighted the purposeful destruction and damage of several key sites:

 

Religious Sites: The purposeful destruction of the Tehran Jewish Synagogue and serious damage to the St. Nicholas Orthodox Cathedral and the St. Mary Greek Orthodox Church.

 

Legal Breaches: The Council identified these acts as violations of the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) regarding freedom of belief.

Rubble of a Synagogue, which was damaged in a strike, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, April 7, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency)

An Assault on Global Civilization

The Council further listed several nationally and internationally registered monuments targeted in the strikes, including Golestan Palace, Ali Qapu, Falak-ol-Aflak Castle, and Chehel Sotoun. The statement described these acts as a clear violation of the 1972 UNESCO World Heritage Convention, calling them an “irreparable injury to the collective memory of humanity.”

 

Classification as War Crimes

The High Council asserted that these systematic attacks violated the core principles of international humanitarian law—namely distinction, proportionality, and precaution. Consequently, under Article 8 of the Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), these actions are categorized as “War Crimes.”

 

Response to Hostile Rhetoric

The statement linked the physical destruction to the “delusional and dark-minded” rhetoric of the U.S. President and other American and Israeli officials who have threatened to “extinguish Iranian civilization” or “return Iran to the Stone Age.” The Council described these remarks as evidence of a malicious intent to uproot the cultural identity of the Iranian people.

 

Call for Global Accountability

The High Council for Human Rights urged the international community, governments, and human rights organizations to break their “unjustifiable silence” and recognize these acts as:

  • War Crimes
  • Crimes Against the Heritage of Mankind

 

The statement concluded by demanding that the perpetrators and commanders of these crimes be held accountable through all legal and international capacities to ensure they do not enjoy impunity for their “insult to religions and the destruction of human civilization.”

Debris at the historical monument Golestan Palace after it was damaged in an Israeli and U.S. strike, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, April 4, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency)