Human Rights Watch (HRW) stated on Wednesday that attacks by Israel and Iran on essential energy infrastructure last month were “unlawfully indiscriminate” and “could constitute war crimes.”
The organization based in the US characterized Israel’s assault on Iran’s South Pars Gas Field on March 18 and Iran’s following strikes on Qatar’s Ras Laffan liquefied natural gas facility as components of “a sequence of illegal attacks on energy infrastructure” by both nations.
Ras Laffan and South Pars are two of the largest natural gas facilities globally.
“Illicit assaults on vital oil and energy infrastructure have predictable ripple effects on the economy that could adversely affect millions,” stated Joey Shea, senior researcher on Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates at Human Rights Watch.
HRW indicated that it examined “official statements from the government and companies, satellite images, and videos of the aftermath,” and contacted both governments for clarification. Israeli authorities stated on March 30 that their “targeting processes are managed by a formal and mandatory framework aimed at ensuring the precise identification of legitimate military targets.”
HRW reported that the Iranian authorities had not replied.
Xenix News has contacted both the military of Israel and Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for remarks.
In a different occurrence, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi charged the US with carrying out an “unprecedented war crime” during its assault on the Iranian vessel Dena.
A US submarine targeted the vessel in international waters last month, resulting in over 80 crew fatalities, as reported by Sri Lankan authorities who initiated a rescue operation.
During a phone conversation on Wednesday with Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Vijitha Herat, Araghchi remarked that Iran would “never forget” the event, describing it as a breach of international humanitarian law. Tehran would utilize “all legal and political means” to ensure accountability for those responsible, he stated.
In another conversation with Afghanistan’s acting foreign minister, Araghchi urged Muslim-majority nations to “stay alert to what he described as Israel’s ‘hegemony and divisiveness.’”
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