On Thursday, July 9, the third day of reciprocal military strikes between Iran and Washington, Mai Sato, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, expressed deep concern over the resumption of hostilities, stating that the Iranian public has once again found itself trapped between foreign military assaults and domestic state repression.
Writing on the social media platform X, Sato described the regional escalation as deeply alarming and characterized the U.S. military strikes inside Iran as “unlawful” under international law.
In her post, she called the military actions, which followed the recent signing of a memorandum of understanding between the two nations, disturbing. She noted that these developments demonstrate how “agreements have been discarded and force has replaced diplomacy.”
Sato pointed out that, on June 18, she and a group of UN experts had cautiously welcomed the U.S.-Iran memorandum while simultaneously warning that the interests and standing of the Iranian public had been severely sidelined in the agreement. That statement was signed by 14 special rapporteurs, independent experts, and UN human rights mechanisms.
The Special Rapporteur highlighted reports indicating significant damage to civilian infrastructure, noting that the recent wave of airstrikes hit multiple ports across southern Iran. She detailed the consequences of the attacks:
