Iran condemns US strike on Chabahar Port, calls it a 'war crime'

The Iranian Embassy in India condemned the US strike on Chabahar's Shahid Kalantari Port as a 'war crime'. US CENTCOM confirmed destroying a surveillance tower, calling it a facility used by Iran's IRGC to monitor commercial shipping.

Iran Condemns US Strike as 'War Crime'

The Iranian Embassy in India on Saturday condemned the US strikes on Iran's Shahid Kalantari Port in Chabahar, which led to the destruction of the surveillance tower, calling it a "war crime." In a post on X, the Embassy expressed grave criticism towards what it described as the deliberate targeting of civilian and economic infrastructure by the US, recognising it as a violation of international law and the United Nations Charter.

"The deliberate targeting of civilian and economic infrastructure, including the Chabahar Port, constitutes a clear war crime and a flagrant violation of international law and the Charter of the United Nations," the Embassy stated. The Embassy underlined US' obligations to protect civilian assets, and said, "By targeting civilian and economic infrastructure, the United States has once again demonstrated its disregard for international law and its obligations to protect civilian objects during armed conflict." https://x.com/Iran_in_India/status/2078437878552805542

US CENTCOM Confirms Strike

The Embassy statement comes after US Central Command (CENTCOM) on Friday (local time) confirmed that it has "successfully destroyed" the surveillance tower at Chabahar port, saying the facility formed part of a maritime surveillance network used by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to monitor commercial shipping in the Gulf of Oman, particularly through the Strait of Hormuz.

In a post on X, CENTCOM said that the attack took place on Thursday as part of its continued military strikes on the Islamic Republic, now targeting civilian infrastructure. "On July 16, U.S. forces successfully destroyed the Chah Bahar Shahid Kalantari Port surveillance tower, part of a maritime surveillance network along Iran's Gulf of Oman coastline used for decades by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to track and target commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz," the post read.

According to CENTCOM, the strike was intended to weaken the IRGC's ability to coordinate attacks on commercial shipping and support freedom of navigation in regional waters. It added that the operation was aimed at protecting civilian maritime traffic while enforcing the ongoing US naval blockade against Iran. "The destruction of the tower directly degrades IRGC's ability to coordinate attacks on innocent civilian crew members. Furthermore, the strike protects freedom of navigation in regional waters for all vessels, except for ships attempting to violate the ongoing U.S. naval blockade against Iran," the post added.

Iranian State Media Confirms Destruction

Iranian state news agency IRNA also confirmed the destruction of the maritime control tower at Chabahar Port after being struck by US forces. However, it reported port's berths, cargo-handling equipment and other operational infrastructure were not damaged, and port authorities immediately began assessing the damage and taking steps to resume normal operations after safety inspections.

India Says Terminal Unharmed

Earlier in the day, Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal responded to the US military strikes on Iran's Chabahar port, stating that the "terminal itself did not face any damage." "If you have been following the issue, there was a waiver which was given by America; that waiver got over some time back. Post that, we have been in discussion with relevant stakeholders as to how to take this particular issue forward. On the question of it being attacked, yes, we have seen some reports in that regard, but we can also tell you that the terminal itself did not face any damage," he stated. (ANI)

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)