‘State terrorism’: Iran slams US-Israeli attacks on civilian space, communications infrastructure

The Iranian ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations says US-Israeli attacks on the country’s civilian space and communications infrastructure during the imposed war are tantamount to “acts of state terrorism.”

Amir-Saeid Iravani made the remarks on Wednesday in letters addressed to the UN chief and the Security Council president.

He said the aggressor regimes deliberately targeted space centers at universities, Space Research Institute, Satellite Systems Research Institute, Advanced Space Transportation Research Institute and Space Propulsion Research Institute, and Mahdasht Space Center, as well as satellite ground control equipment at Khayyam Observatory, and 30 terrestrial transmitter stations of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB).

He added that civilian space centers hit in enemy strikes are exclusively dedicated to peaceful scientific advancement, the upgrading of technical capabilities, and the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes.

“These deliberate attacks on purely civilian scientific and communications infrastructure constitute acts of state terrorism and war crimes. These actions are a clear violation of Article 2, Paragraph 4 of the UN Charter and a gross violation of international humanitarian law,” the Iranian envoy said.

“Targeting facilities that are vital to scientific progress and public safety demonstrates the true criminal intent of the aggressors.”

Meanwhile, Iravani emphasized that brutal US-Israeli attacks on Iran’s civilian space centers contravene the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which affirms the freedom to explore and use outer space for the benefit of all states.

He also called on the UN to take serious action against the US and the Israeli regime over their illegal attacks against civilian space and communications infrastructure across Iran.

The Security Council, he noted, must unequivocally condemn US-Israeli criminal acts and take necessary measures to prevent their recurrence.

The unprovoked US-Israeli aggression on Iran began on February 28 with airstrikes that assassinated senior Iranian officials and commanders and targeted civilian infrastructure.

The Iranian armed forces unleashed 100 waves of successful retaliatory strikes against sensitive and strategic American and Israeli targets throughout the region.

On April 8, forty days into the war, a Pakistan-brokered two-week ceasefire went into effect but the first round of Tehran-Washington negotiations failed to reach an agreement.

US President Donald Trump unilaterally extended the truce, saying his administration will wait for an Iranian proposal for a second round of talks in Islamabad.

However, Tehran has refrained from committing to a second round of negotiations, with authorities citing Washington’s excessive demands and “naval blockade” of Iran as two main impediments to conclude the war.

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