WANA (Mar 19) – Iran’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Amir Saeed Iravani, has described recent attacks on Iranian energy facilities as a “gross and serious violation of international law, including the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law.”

 

In a letter to the UN Secretary-General, the President of the Security Council, and the President of the General Assembly, Iravani said the strikes, carried out by the United States and Israel, constitute part of an ongoing unprovoked military campaign against Iran’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

 

He wrote that on the morning of 18 March 2026, civilian gas facilities in southern Iran, including those connected to the Pars South gas field and the Asaluyeh region, were deliberately targeted by military attacks.

 

Initial assessments indicate that several phases of the Pars South gas field have been temporarily disabled. These civilian facilities are critical infrastructure, essential for energy supply, economic stability, and the well-being of millions of civilians.

 

The letter emphasized that targeting civilian objects, including vital energy infrastructure, is absolutely prohibited under the law of armed conflict and constitutes a war crime.

 

Iravani further noted that such illegal actions carry a high risk of severe environmental damage and disastrous humanitarian consequences, including disruptions to essential services, economic hardships, and threats to civilian lives.

 

Iran holds the United States and Israel fully responsible under international law for these attacks, violations of Iran’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, civilian casualties, and extensive damage to non-military infrastructure across the country.

 

The letter stressed that, in response to these deliberate and unlawful attacks, Iran reserves its inherent right to self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter and will take all necessary and proportionate measures to protect its sovereignty, territorial integrity, and vital national interests.

 

Iravani requested that the letter be distributed as an official document of the UN Security Council.