Press Statement No.7
23 March 2026
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
In the continuation of the illegal and inhuman aggression by the joint US and the Israeli regimes against Iran, the U.S. President has recently threatened to “obliterate” Iran’s power plants if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened within 48 hours. This inflammatory ultimatum, issued amidst the ongoing illegal aggression by the American and Zionist regimes, targets the very foundations of civilian life.
The targeting of power plants—which provide essential electricity to residential homes, life-saving medical equipment in hospitals, and water pumping stations—is a flagrant violation of the fundamental Principle of Distinction as enshrined in Articles 48 and 52 of the Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions. The international community must recognize that the deliberate attacks against civilian property constitute a war crime under the Rome Statute, for which the perpetrators will be held strictly accountable.
Donald Trump, the President of the United States, has repeatedly and publicly stated that the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz is of "no importance" to the United States. By his own admission, the military reopening of this waterway serves no "decisive military advantage" for U.S. forces. Therefore, the threat to target Iran's energy infrastructure within a 48-hour window is not a matter of security, but a clear act of state terrorism and a violation of the UN Charter. Under Chapter VII, the United Nations Security Council is legally obligated to take immediate and decisive action to halt these threats and prevent a humanitarian catastrophe that would "irreversibly destroy" regional and global stability.
We call upon international public opinion, freedom-loving nations, and all justice-oriented governments to condemn these barbaric threats in the strongest possible terms. The global community must not allow the whims of the U.S. President to jeopardize the lives of millions and the peace of the entire world.
Public Diplomacy of the Consulate General of the Islamic Republic of Iran
in Hong Kong and Macao