SAEDNEWS: IRCS Chairman Pirhossein Kolivand said Israeli attacks on members of the group were fully intentional and not random.
According to Saednews: Israeli attacks on members of the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) during the regime’s 12-day war of aggression last month were “completely intentional,” IRCS Chairman Pirhossein Kolivand has declared.
“The attacks were fully intentional and not random,” Kolivand said on Monday while speaking at a weekly press conference of Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei.
“Footage from surveillance cameras at our centers broke my heart,” Kolivand said. “Despite the bombings, staff bravely continued caring for their patients without seeking shelter.”
He emphasized that medical centers are supposed to be protected under the Geneva Conventions, yet they were “consciously and heavily targeted” by the Israeli regime.
According to Kolivand, Red Crescent ambulances and staff were clearly marked and identifiable from all angles, making the justification of accidental targeting implausible.
“These were not stray missiles. Our uniforms, our vehicles, everything clearly showed we were humanitarian workers. Yet we were attacked while providing aid,” he said.
The official also described the scenes he witnessed as reminiscent of Ashura tragedies, saying, “We saw children torn apart like Ali Asghar, and the suffering of our Abbas and Zaynab. It was real, not a story. Homes burned. Innocents massacred. There was no mercy,” he said in reference to suffering by family members of Imam Hossein (PBUH), including his newborn son Ali Asghar who was killed during the battle of Karbala 14 centuries ago.
Israel attacked Iran in an unprovoked act of aggression on June 13, assassinating military commanders and nuclear scientists in targeted strikes, and killing civilians in air raids on residential areas. The war was halted on June 24 after the Tel Aviv regime requested a ceasefire following retaliatory missile strikes by Iran.
‘Israeli attacks killed civilians and aid workers’
Kolivand further said that the Red Crescent Society has suffered heavy losses during recent Israeli attacks, with both civilians and humanitarian personnel among those killed.
He offered condolences over the deaths of Iranian citizens and said the attacks left widespread damage and destruction.
“Around 8,200 homes have been damaged, including 400 that were completely destroyed,” he explained. “Among the martyrs, 126 were women and 41 were children, none of them were combatants.”
Kolivand said five Red Crescent aid workers were killed while on duty. “They were directly targeted while delivering aid,” he said. “One of our ambulances was hit and completely burned. One of our martyrs was struck in the middle of a rescue mission.”
He also said that such actions are in clear violation of international humanitarian law.
“These are blatant breaches of the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols,” he said, adding that “under international law, no one has the right to target medical staff, relief workers, or civilians.”
Kolivand called for accountability, warning that the scale and nature of the attacks constituted serious war crimes.
