Strikes near Iran, Israel nuclear sites risk ‘unmitigated catastrophe’

2026-03-25 - 10:50

UN rights chief Volker Turk said that ‘we cannot go back to war as a tool of international relations’. (EPA Images pic) GENEVA: Strikes around Iran and Israel’s nuclear sites risk unleashing an “unmitigated catastrophe”, the UN rights chief said Wednesday, warning that the Middle East war had created an “extremely dangerous” situation. Speaking before the UN Human Rights Council, where countries were holding an urgent debate on Tehran’s attacks across the Gulf, Volker Turk warned that many of the strikes in the weeks-long war “raise serious concerns under international law”. In particular, Turk cautioned that “recent missile strikes near nuclear sites in both Israel and Iran underscore the immense danger of further escalation”. “States are flirting with unmitigated catastrophe.” His comments came after the UN nuclear watchdog said Iran had informed it that “another projectile hit the premises” of the Bushehr nuclear power plant on Tuesday, without damaging it. Over the weekend, an Iranian strike hit the southern Israeli town of Dimona, home to a nuclear facility, in what Tehran said was in response to an earlier attack on its nuclear site at Natanz. “The situation is extremely dangerous and unpredictable and has created chaos across the region,” Turk said, insisting that “we cannot go back to war as a tool of international relations.” The UN rights chief also warned that “this conflict has an unprecedented power to ensnare countries across borders and around the world”. “The complex dynamics could ignite further national, regional or global crises at any moment, with an appalling impact on civilians and people everywhere.” The rare urgent debate at the rights council, requested by Bahrain on behalf of the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and Jordan, was focused exclusively on Iran’s strikes on countries across the Gulf region and their impact on civilians. In the debate, branded by Tehran as “detached from reality”, the 47-member council was considering a draft resolution that “condemns in the strongest terms the egregious attacks” by Iran, condemns Tehran’s actions aimed at closing the Strait of Hormuz and voices “grave concerns at the Iranian attacks on energy infrastructure”. It demands Iran “cease all unprovoked attacks” against the GCC states and Jordan and “provide full, adequate, effective and prompt reparation for all injury and damage... caused by its internationally illegal wrongful acts”. It does not mention Israel or the US.