The fighting in the Middle East has intensified into what experts describe as a regional “spiral of conflict,” involving Iranian drone and missile attacks on Gulf States and Israeli strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon. On 28 February, the US and Israel launched a major aerial campaign against Iran, targeting military and nuclear sites. Over the following three weeks, these strikes have reportedly caused significant civilian casualties, including children, highlighting the human cost of the escalating hostilities.
Sara Hossein, chair of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran, emphasized the plight of ordinary Iranians caught between the large-scale military campaign by the US and Israel and ongoing domestic repression. Residential areas, oil depots, and a desalination plant have been struck or destroyed, causing severe harm to civilians. In one notable attack, an airstrike on a school in Minab killed over 168 people, most of them young girls, raising serious concerns about the protection of civilians and adherence to international rules of engagement.
The Council’s Special Rapporteur on Iran, Mai Sato, reported that additional strikes had killed approximately 1,000 civilians and destroyed hospitals and World Heritage sites. Damage to oil infrastructure has caused toxic environmental consequences in a country already facing acute water shortages. The war has displaced three million people internally, with many urban areas lacking functional air raid sirens or bomb shelters, leaving civilians highly vulnerable.
Iranian officials have confirmed more than 1,300 deaths and over 7,000 injuries, including infants, urging the international community to respond. The conflict has now spread to nearly a dozen nations across the fragile Middle East region. Gulf Cooperation Council countries, including Bahrain, condemned Iranian strikes on their territories, citing attacks on civilians and critical infrastructure, and reaffirmed support for UN Security Council Resolution 2817 condemning such assaults. ASEAN members, represented by the Philippines, echoed concerns about the escalating conflict and its toll on innocent lives, stressing that such violence must not be normalized.
