Mai Sato, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, released a statement on Thursday, July 23, which was also shared on X, condemning the “resumption of hostilities” between Iran and the United States over the past two weeks and urging both sides to return to the negotiating table.
She emphasized once again that “the Iranian people are once more caught between renewed strikes by the United States and domestic repression by their own government.”
In her statement, Sato pointed to civilian casualties resulting from the outbreak of the Third War, as well as the widespread issuance and execution of death sentences targeting detainees from the January 2026 protests. “Civilians must not pay the price of this conflict,” she wrote. “All parties must protect civilian lives and return to the negotiating table.”
