Tehran Peace Museum urges global action, calls Iran War “unlawful and unprovoked”

The Tehran Peace Museum has called on the global community to raise awareness, demand accountability, and act to stop ongoing violence in Iran, warning that civilian lives are being lost while international institutions fail to respond effectively.

The United States and Israel attacked Iran on February 28. Iran responded by attacking neighbouring countries with U.S. military bases. On April 2, the human rights organization HRA reported 3,530 deaths in Iran, and of the 2,819 identified casualties, 57% (1,606) were civilians, including 244 children.

On March 31, Tehran museum leadership wrote that “it has now been more than a month since the onset of this unlawful and unprovoked war against Iran.” The statement was shared with the International Network of Museums for Peace members and signed by Shahriar Khateri MD, PhD and Mona Badamchizaedh. In email correspondence, Dr. Khateri gave permission for the letter to be quoted and highlighted the Instagram account of the Iranian Red Crescent.

In their letter, Badamchizaedh and Khateri wrote that the “scale and nature of the violence demand[ed] urgent and sustained international attention.” They wrote that “Civilian infrastructure—including schools, medical centers, residential areas, public service facilities, and sites of cultural heritage—has been systematically and deliberately targeted, day and night. At the same time, leaders of the aggressor countries continue to issue threats to destroy Iran’s infrastructure, including power plants and the oil industry.”

On April 2, over 100 U.S. experts in international law published an open letter critical of the U.S. government: “The initiation of the campaign was a clear violation of the United Nations Charter, and the conduct of United States forces…raise serious concerns about violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, including potential war crimes.” Published in the U.S.-based Just Security, the letter focuses “on the conduct of the U.S. government”.

Both the open letter and Tehran museum statement drew attention to the tragic bombing of Shajareh Tayyebeh Primary School in Minab, Iran. Over 170 children were killed in the attack that Bellingcat and other news organizations showed was done using a U.S. Tomahawk missile strike.

The Tehran Peace Museum’s letter notes the “broad recognition” of illegal aggression and asks who will take responsibility to stop it; “What is the role and responsibility of civil society?”

Badamchizaedh and Khateri called on activists and academics to raise awareness, to share verified information, to challenge “misinformation and war propaganda”, and to demand justice and accountability.

Chris Houston is a Community Fellow at the Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research. He is also the Executive Director of the Canadian Peace Museum, which is a member of the organization mentioned in this article, the International Network of Museums for Peace.

You may also be interested in...