Iran slams US-Israeli attack on Tehran's 12,000-seat Azadi sports complex as war crime

Iran’s sports minister has strongly condemned an American-Israeli aggression against facilities inside Tehran’s 12,000-seat Azadi Sports Complex, calling the attack a violation of international law and a war crime.

Speaking in a live video call with the IRIB’s News Network, Sports and Youth Minister Ahmad Donyamali said several sports venues had been targeted in Thursday’s attack.

He said such strikes violate international rules protecting sports facilities during wartime.

“Unfortunately, today several of our stadiums were targeted,” Donyamali said. “According to the Olympic Charter and global rules, attacking sports venues is a war crime.”

According to Iranian officials, a 12,000-seat indoor volleyball arena inside the Azadi complex was destroyed in the strike.

The attack also leveled dormitories and a newly built building belonging to Iran’s Cycling Federation, while blast waves shattered windows in nearby facilities, including the complex’s swimming pool.

Donyamali said the stadiums were empty when they were struck but added that civilians in surrounding areas were injured by the blasts.

“Although the stadiums were empty, people in the surrounding areas were wounded and harmed as a result of the military attack,” he said.

Iranian sports officials and federation heads also vehemently condemned the attack.

Alireza Sohrabian, head of Iran’s Canoeing Federation, said the destruction of sports, educational and medical facilities violates international humanitarian principles.

“The destruction of sports spaces is among the actions prohibited under international rules during war,” he said, adding that part of the Canoeing Federation’s facilities had also been damaged in the attack.

Meanwhile, Iranian Weightlifting Federation president Sajjad Anoushiravani said his federation’s building inside the Azadi complex was also damaged and pledged to raise the issue with global sports authorities.

“In the first opportunity, we will send a letter to the international federation and state our position,” he said, urging international organizations to respond.

The strike on the Azadi complex is part of a broader series of attacks targeting civilian infrastructure across the country during the ongoing US-Israeli aggression.

Earlier this week, a primary school in the southern city of Minab was bombed, leaving around 175 female students dead and many others injured.

Iranian sports community issues condemnation

In a separate collective statement, the Iranian sports community, including national sports federations and elite athletes, described the attacks as a "violation of the sanctity of the homeland" and a direct assault on the "identity and vitality of the nation."

The statement said that for decades, the iconic 12,000-seat stadium in Tehran served as the "beating heart" of Iranian national sports and a central hub for international competitions.

The statement also condemned the US-Israeli attack on a local gymnasium in the Lamerd County in Fars Province, which resulted in the martyrdom of a group of sports professionals, including coaches and student-athletes.

The statement highlighted that these individuals were killed while wearing their athletic uniforms, preparing to represent their country.

It emphasized that the targeting of athletic venues constitutes a flagrant violation of the Olympic Charter, which establishes sports as a symbol of global peace and solidarity.

"Even the most basic human principles and the explicit provisions of the Olympic Charter regarding the protection of sports as a sanctuary for peace and global solidarity have been ignored by the [self-proclaimed human rights defenders]," the communique stated.

The family of Iranian sports vowed that the destruction of physical infrastructure would not dampen their resolve.

"The roofs of our halls may have collapsed, but the sky-high will and determination of this land's athletes remain unreachable," the statement said.

The community concluded that the blood of the athletes in Lamerd and the ruins of the Azadi hall serve as a message of resistance and provide double motivation for future national endeavors.

The strike on the Azadi complex is part of a broader series of attacks targeting civilian infrastructure across the country during the ongoing US-Israeli aggression.

Earlier this week, a primary school in the southern city of Minab was bombed, leaving around 175 female students dead and many others injured.

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