NEW DELHI, July 18 (ANI): The Iranian Embassy in India on Saturday condemned the U.S. strike on Iran’s Shahid Kalantari Port in Chabahar, which destroyed the port’s surveillance tower, calling the attack a “clear war crime.”
In a post on X, the embassy strongly criticized what it described as the deliberate targeting of civilian and economic infrastructure, saying the strike violated international law and the United Nations Charter.
“The deliberate targeting of civilian and economic infrastructure, including the Chabahar Port, constitutes a clear war crime and a flagrant violation of international law and the Charter of the United Nations,” the embassy said.
The embassy also accused the United States of failing to uphold its obligations under international law.
“By targeting civilian and economic infrastructure, the United States has once again demonstrated its disregard for international law and its obligations to protect civilian objects during armed conflict,” the statement added.
The embassy’s comments came after U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed Friday (local time) that U.S. forces had “successfully destroyed” the surveillance tower at Shahid Kalantari Port in Chabahar, saying the facility was part of a maritime surveillance network used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to monitor commercial shipping in the Gulf of Oman, particularly through the Strait of Hormuz.
In a post on X, CENTCOM said the strike took place Thursday as part of its continuing military operations against Iran.
“On July 16, U.S. forces successfully destroyed the Chah Bahar Shahid Kalantari Port surveillance tower, part of a maritime surveillance network along Iran’s Gulf of Oman coastline used for decades by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to track and target commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz,” the statement said.
According to CENTCOM, the strike was intended to reduce the IRGC’s ability to coordinate attacks on commercial shipping and help safeguard freedom of navigation in regional waters.
“The destruction of the tower directly degrades the IRGC’s ability to coordinate attacks on innocent civilian crew members. Furthermore, the strike protects freedom of navigation in regional waters for all vessels, except for ships attempting to violate the ongoing U.S. naval blockade against Iran,” CENTCOM added.
Iran’s state-run news agency IRNA also confirmed that the maritime control tower at Chabahar Port had been destroyed in the U.S. strike.
However, IRNA reported that the port’s berths, cargo-handling equipment, and other operational infrastructure remained undamaged. Port authorities immediately began assessing the damage and taking steps to resume normal operations following safety inspections.
Earlier Saturday, Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal responded to reports of the U.S. strike, stating that the terminal itself had not sustained damage.
“If you have been following the issue, there was a waiver which was given by America; that waiver got over some time back. Post that, we have been in discussion with relevant stakeholders as to how to take this particular issue forward. On the question of it being attacked, yes, we have seen some reports in that regard, but we can also tell you that the terminal itself did not face any damage,” Jaiswal said. (ANI)
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