Letter to Mr. Volker TURK The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights - June 23 2025

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In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

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Your Excellency, 

I am writing to bring to your urgent attention, in your capacity as the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the guardian of the UN human rights framework, that the unlawful, brazen, and reckless act of aggression carried out by the United States on 22 June 2025 constitutes not merely a continuation, but a willful act of complicity in the crime of aggression perpetrated by the Israeli regime on 13 June 2025.

I wish to solemnly inform Your Excellency that, in the early hours of 22 June 2025, the United States launched an armed attack on Iran’s safeguarded nuclear facilities in Natanz, Fordow, and Isfahan—sites under full IAEA supervision.

This act of aggression, represents a flagrant violation of Article 2(4) of the Charter of the United Nations, which categorically prohibits the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state. More gravely, the deliberate targeting of Iran’s safeguarded nuclear infrastructure—developed transparently for peaceful purposes—amounts to a direct assault on the collective rights of the Iranian people. These sites are not merely physical structures; they are the embodiment of decades of indigenous scientific endeavor, public investment, and national aspiration for technological self-determination. Moreover, this aggression infringes upon the right of every nation to freely pursue scientific advancement and build the foundational infrastructure necessary for the realization of its economic sovereignty. By crippling facilities central to peaceful nuclear research and domestic innovation, this aggression aims to erode the Iranian people’s capacity to shape their own scientific and economic destiny—an affront not only to Iran’s sovereignty, but also to the right of every people to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and its applications, as enshrined in Article 15 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

What makes this aggression all the more egregious is the nature of the facilities targeted. These are centers for civilian scientific development, medical isotope production, and peaceful nuclear research. Their operation directly supports the Iranian healthcare system, including the treatment of cancer patients and the provision of radiopharmaceuticals. The disruption caused by the attacks has immediate and foreseeable consequences for the health and wellbeing of countless Iranian civilians, particularly the most vulnerable among them. This represents not merely an assault on infrastructure—it is an assault on the right to health as guaranteed under Article 12 of the ICESCR.

It is incumbent upon your Office, as the highest authority within the United Nations system charged with the promotion and protection of human rights, to speak with moral clarity.

The right to life, the right to health, the right to development, and the right of peoples to determine their scientific and economic future—all have been imperiled by the US act of aggression. The High Commissioner must not allow such grave violations to pass without clear and unequivocal condemnation.

Just as other United Nations special procedures and experts have raised their voices to “condemn” this act as a breach of international law on 20 June 2025, the Islamic Republic of Iran expects no less from your office.

While noting your previous statement on 19 June 2025, I deem it necessary to underscore that the recent act of aggression by the United States represents an even graver breach of international law and a deeper affront to the rule of law. In light of this, I urge You to once again, in accordance with your practice, issue a clear condemnation of this unlawful act. we expects your leadership in condemning this act of aggression. 

This Office must act with urgency, clarity, and principle to uphold the rule of law and ensure that grave violations of international norms do not go unanswered. The seriousness of this military aggression demands a coordinated and principled response rooted in the UN Charter and the fundamental principles of sovereignty, peace and respect for human dignity under international law and justice. 

Respectfully yours, 

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