'Cowardly war crime': Iran condemns US strike near children's hospital in Ahvaz

Iran has condemned a US strike near a children's cancer hospital in the southwestern city of Ahvaz as a "cowardly war crime," saying the attack forced the emergency evacuation of hundreds of vulnerable patients and inflicted fear on children undergoing cancer treatment.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said in a post on X on Thursday that Shahid Baqaei Hospital, a pediatric cancer treatment center, was evacuated overnight after the United States struck a nearby location.

He said the attack caused widespread distress among young patients and disrupted life-saving medical care.

"This barbaric attack, reminiscent of Israel’s atrocities against healthcare facilities, caused severe suffering and anxiety upon the hospitalized children, and forced the emergency evacuation of 211 patients undergoing chemotherapy.

"This constitutes a cowardly war crime against the most innocent of human beings — children who are bravely fighting for their lives," he added.

He also slammed governments that condemn human rights abuses selectively.

"Those who ceaselessly preach human rights, yet deliberately turn a blind eye to the targeting of hospitals and health centers, have forfeited every shred of moral credibility."

Residents of Ahvaz reported hearing multiple explosions on Wednesday night after US strikes targeted several parts of the southwestern Iranian city, including areas near the hospital, according to local reports.

Fars News Agency said several projectiles landed in the vicinity of Shahid Baqaei Hospital. Medical personnel, assisted by patients' families, evacuated frightened patients and began transferring them to another healthcare facility.

Ahvaz University of Medical Sciences said the hospital had been temporarily taken out of service after explosions in adjacent areas.

"Following enemy attacks on the city and explosions in areas adjacent to the hospital, the facility has been temporarily taken out of service to ensure the safety of patients and staff," the university said.

Iran's Health Ministry said the latest wave of US aggression on Iran had pushed the number of injured to more than 300 by midday Wednesday, while 35 people had been killed.

"The number of people injured in the recent attacks exceeded 300 by 12:00 p.m. on Wednesday, and unfortunately 35 of our compatriots were martyred. Among those killed were two women and one teenager under the age of 18. Hormozgan, Sistan and Baluchestan, and Khuzestan provinces sustained the heaviest damage. Seventy-two of the injured remain hospitalized," the ministry said.

The strike near the hospital came amid escalating tensions in the Strait of Hormuz following a series of US attacks on Iran over the past week. Tehran says the strikes violate the war-ending agreement reached between the two sides last month, responding to the strikes by targeting US military facilities in the Persian Gulf countries.

Iran has since declared the strategic waterway closed "until further notice" and says it will remain so at least until an end to US interference in the region.

In recent days, the US military has targeted several civilian locations, including a water production facility serving pilgrims traveling to Iraq's holy city of Karbala in Iran's western border region.

Back on February 28, the US launched a triple tap attack on Shajareh Tayyebeh elementary school in Minab, killing 168 people, mostly children.

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