Iran rights body blasts attacks on Bushehr nuclear plant as grave breach of international law

Iran's High Council for Human Rights has condemned attacks on the Islamic Republic's peaceful nuclear facilities, particularly the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, during the US-Israeli aggression, calling them a "grave and manifest violation of international law."

In a statement on Tuesday, the council expressed "serious and profound concern" over repeated attacks on the plant that is located in southern Iran.

It stressed that the facility was an active civilian installation operating under continuous international supervision and verification, including the safeguards system.

The statement warned that "any attack against it constitutes a violation of the fundamental principles of international law, particularly the peremptory norms of international humanitarian law."

It noted that key legal principles had been violated, including the distinction between military and civilian targets, the principle of proportionality, and the prohibition on causing widespread, long-term, and severe environmental damage.

Risk to security, human rights

Targeting the facility, the statement said, threatens national, regional, and international security.

According to the body, release of radioactive materials could trigger a large-scale humanitarian and environmental catastrophe, with consequences extending beyond Iran’s borders.

Such a disaster would severely violate fundamental human rights, including the right to life, the right to health, and the right to a healthy environment, it stated.

Call for international action

The council called on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to adopt a "transparent, explicit, and firm position" condemning the attacks and taking immediate measures to prevent their recurrence.

It also urged the United Nations, the world body's Human Rights Council, and other relevant international bodies to "explicitly condemn" the attacks and work to bring them to an immediate halt.

The statement concluded that "full responsibility for all humanitarian, environmental, and security consequences" lies with the perpetrators and supporters of the attacks and emphasized that the Islamic Republic reserves its right to pursue these violations through legal and international mechanisms.

In a statement released on Friday, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) confirmed that the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant had been struck by a projectile, marking the third attack on the facility.

The AEOI added that the projectile hit the plant earlier in that day, saying initial reports indicated that the incident caused no human, financial, or technical damage.

The US and Israel also targeted the Khondab heavy water complex in the central Iranian city of Arak on Friday for the second time after they attacked the complex during the 12-day war last June.

Also on Friday, they carried out a strike against a yellowcake production facility in the city of Ardakan in the central province of Yazd.

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