Hegseth ‘war criminal’ and ‘murderer’ over Iran boat attacks: Ex-UN official

Mohamad Safa, a UN representative who recently resigned, said US War Secretary Pete Hegseth is either a “war criminal” or “murderer”, saying the US military deliberately targeted two civilian boats traveling from Oman to Iran, killing five unarmed civilians.

In a social media post on Monday, Safa laid out a legal indictment.

“If the United States is at war, then Pete Hegseth is a war criminal. If the United States is not at war, then Pete Hegseth is a murderer.”

“What Pete Hegseth ordered the military to do violates international law. The civilian boats were going from Oman to Iran. The US army deliberately targeted two boats and killed 5 civilians.”

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said Army Apache and Navy MH-60 Seahawk helicopters struck six Iranian small boats they identified as a threat to commercial shipping.

Safa, a representative of the Patriotic Vision Association (PVA) NGO at the UN, also reminded that the Geneva Conventions impose a clear duty on any military that sinks a vessel.

“Under the Geneva Conventions, you are obligated to rescue the crew of a ship that you sink. Abandoning any survivors and leaving them to drown is illegal and a war crime,” he said.

“Pete Hegseth war crimes trial is going to be historic.”

UN resignation over nuclear war planning

Safa resigned from his UN post on March 31, 2026, citing the international body’s preparation for a scenario involving the possible use of nuclear weapons against Iran.

“I gave up my diplomatic career to leak this information. I suspended my duties so as not to be part of or a witness to this crime against humanity,” he said at the time.

He accused senior UN figures of “serving a powerful lobby” rather than the organization itself, and warned that Tehran is a city of nearly 10 million people. “Imagine nuking Washington, Berlin, Paris, London, or beyond, bombed with nuclear weapons.”

Safa’s warnings were echoed by World Health Organization officials, who confirmed they were preparing for a “worst-case scenario” of a nuclear incident if the US-Israeli war on Iran escalates.

“The worst-case scenario is a nuclear incident… and that’s something that worries us the most,” WHO regional director Hanan Balkhy told Politico.

Mohamed ElBaradei, former IAEA director general and Nobel laureate, also refused to rule out the use of nuclear weapons, saying, “If you have a crazy leader and they feel that they are losing, I don’t exclude it.”

The illegal US-Israeli aggression against Iran began on February 28, with unprovoked strikes that included the assassination of Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and attacks on nuclear facilities, schools, hospitals and a synagogue.

Iran’s armed forces have responded decisively with at least 100 waves of retaliatory strikes under Operation True Promise 4.

Safa’s comments against Hegseth add to growing international calls for accountability over US military conduct during the war.

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