In response to US President Donald Trump’s statement on Iran on Truth Social on April 7, 2026, in which he warned that “an entire civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” Agnes Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International, said:
“President Trump’s act of issuing such horrific threats, including his warning of ending ‘an entire civilization,’ reveals an astonishing level of cruelty and disregard for human life. It becomes even more horrifying when coupled with his explicit threats to directly attack civilian infrastructure by causing the ‘total demolition’ of Iran’s power plants and bridges.”
“International humanitarian law strictly prohibits direct attacks on civilians and civilian objects. The US President’s threat of extermination and irreparable destruction brazenly shreds the basic rules of international humanitarian law, with potentially catastrophic consequences for more than 90 million people. It may constitute a threat to commit genocide, a crime defined by the Genocide Convention and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court as the commission of one or more specified acts “with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, national, racial or ethnic nationals.” Group Ethnic or religious, per se.
The US President’s threat of annihilation and irreparable destruction flagrantly shreds the basic rules of international humanitarian law, with potentially catastrophic consequences for more than 90 million people.
“The stakes could not be higher. The international community, including the UN Security Council, regional bodies and all states, must urgently intervene to avert an imminent catastrophe, and unequivocally affirm that the incitement, ordering or commission of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide entails individual criminal responsibility under international law.
“President Trump’s threats, coupled with escalating US and Israeli attacks that are devastating civilian infrastructure, are terrorizing millions of people in Iran and their distressed relatives abroad, with the lives of tens of millions at stake. We call for immediate action to stop unlawful attacks that would plunge an entire country into darkness, depriving millions of their basic human rights to life, water, food, health care, and an adequate standard of living.
“In recent days, US and Israeli forces have attacked civilian infrastructure, including power plants, bridges, universities, steel plants, and petrochemical facilities, killing and wounding civilians, condemning populations to years, if not decades, of profound economic hardship, inflicting severe damage to civilian health and the environment, and causing long-term damage to civilian lives and livelihoods.
“Intentionally attacking civilian infrastructure constitutes war crimes under international law. Even in the limited cases in which civilian infrastructure is considered military objectives, any party remains unable to attack it if doing so would cause disproportionate harm to civilians. Power plants, water networks and energy infrastructure are indispensable to civilian life, supporting access to clean water, medical care, hospital electricity, food supply chains and basic livelihoods. Attacking them would be disproportionate, and therefore unlawful under international humanitarian law, and could amount to a war crime. “.
background
In recent days, President Trump has repeatedly issued escalating threats against Iran’s energy and transportation infrastructure. warning And that unless the Iranian authorities reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the United States will carry out the “complete destruction” of the country’s power stations and bridges. He also threatened to bomb Iran “back to the stone age.”
On April 5, President Trump to caution That he could “take Iran out overnight” and set a deadline of 8 p.m. ET on April 7 for Iranian authorities to comply. He further vowed that every power station and bridge in the country would be left “to burn and explode and never be used again.”
On April 7, the IDF issued a very broad order warning told civilians in Iran to avoid trains and railway lines across the country, noting that being near such infrastructure would “put your life at risk.”
During the same period, US and Israeli strikes across Iran hit bridges, petrochemical facilities, and steel plants, killing and wounding civilians and raising fears of widespread unlawful attacks on essential civilian infrastructure.
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