What are ‘civilian’ sites in international law and where have US, Iran hit?
The US and Iran are engaged in escalating strikes targeting civilian infrastructure including roads, bridges, and power plants, raising concerns about potential violations of international humanitarian law. At least 50 people have died in Iran since hostilities resumed on July 15, with hundreds wounded.
The United States and Iran are locked in an intensifying cycle of military strikes, each claiming their actions aim to prevent the other from achieving military dominance over the Strait of Hormuz. As the conflict has progressed, both nations have expanded their targeting to include civilian infrastructure, prompting international concern about adherence to humanitarian law.
US President Donald Trump has publicly threatened to destroy Iranian power plants and bridges unless Iran returns to negotiations, statements made during a Fox News interview and repeated in earlier April remarks. Meanwhile, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has responded with strikes on neighbouring Gulf countries hosting US military assets, resulting in at least two US military deaths.
According to Iranian authorities, at least 50 people have died in Iran since hostilities resumed on July 15, with 500 wounded. Strikes have targeted dozens of locations across southern and northwestern Iran, ranging from military command centres to railways and airports. The fragile memorandum of understanding signed in June between the two countries has now collapsed.
International humanitarian law, established through the 1949 Geneva Conventions and their 1977 Additional Protocols, explicitly prohibits armed attacks or reprisals on civilian infrastructure during armed conflict. Civilian infrastructure encompasses all objects not serving military purposes and normally dedicated to civilian use, including places of worship, schools, residences, roads, bridges, railways, airports, electrical plants, sewage systems, hospitals, and communication networks. The law also protects drinking water installations, irrigation systems, foodstuffs, crops, livestock, and dams.
During the first phase of the US-Israel war launched on February 28, several civilian sites were struck, including a girls' school in Minab where at least 170 people were killed. A UN spokesperson expressed particular concern about ongoing attacks on civilian infrastructure, characterizing such strikes as unacceptable.
Bell watches registries and rules change in near-real-time.