An Unprecedented Letter to the UN Secretary General

To: His Excellency Mr. António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations

      Her Excellency Ms. Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO

Subject: Urgent Appeal for Action Regarding Israeli Regime’s Unlawful Military Aggression Against Iran

Your Excellencies,

The undersigned submits this formal protest regarding the Israeli regime’s sustained unlawful aggressions against Iran since 13 June 2025, constituting severe breaches of international law under the UN Charter. These systematic attacks endanger regional stability, civilian lives, ecological integrity, and global cultural heritage, escalating beyond mere geopolitical conflict into an international existential threat. The deliberate targeting of civilians, residential areas, and sovereign institutions undermines the international legal order, risking irreversible catastrophe. The situation demands urgent intervention before diplomatic and mitigative capacities are exhausted. It is earnestly urged that this appeal be regarded not as a matter of routine procedure, but as a solemn and final urgent call to action—one that necessitates the immediate and coordinated mobilisation of all juridical, diplomatic, and institutional capacities, in order to prevent the onset of an irreversible systemic disintegration of international institutional legitimacy and credibility.

Verified data confirm a systematic and deliberate aggression targeting Iran’s civilian population and critical infrastructure. This is not incidental warfare, but a calculated strategy designed to dismantle the functional pillars of civilian life—most gravely in the domains of healthcare, education, scientific advancement, energy, and cultural preservation.

To date, the Israeli regime’s aggressions across Iran have killed over 415 people and injured around 1,550, with civilians accounting for 90% of the casualties. The majority of the dead are women and children, and the attacks have also intentionally targeted prominent scientists and senior military officials. Strikes on residential zones, hospitals, research centres, and religious sites illustrate a pattern of indiscriminate violence carried out in the absence of legitimate military imperative.

As of the moment of this appeal, the Israeli regime’s forces have carried out 125 strikes across residential areas, civilian, governmental, scientific, industrial, and military sectors. The wide geographic scope and repeated attacks indicate a coordinated escalation that constitutes a grave violation of the principles of “distinction” and “proportionality” under international humanitarian law.

Material losses are extensive as well. Immediate physical damage is estimated at $3.2–4.9 billion, with long-term economic losses surpassing $10 billion due to infrastructure collapse and oil revenue decline. The destruction of key installations—including airports, water treatment facilities, refineries, and nuclear sites—has paralysed essential services and public life.

The Israeli regime’s sustained pattern of aggression observed constitutes a series of grave breaches—not only of the Charter of the United Nations but also of international humanitarian law, the laws of armed conflict, and universally recognised human rights norms. These actions have constituted a serious violation of the principle of national sovereignty and have had catastrophic consequences for civilian life, infrastructure, and international stability.

• Under Article 2(4) of the UN Charter, such use of force is prohibited unless authorised by the Security Council or justified under Article 51 as self-defence. The acts of the Israeli regime meet the criteria of aggression as defined in UN General Assembly Resolution 3314 (1975), and are further criminalised under the Rome Statute and the 2010 Convention on the Crime of Aggression.

 

• Strikes have consistently breached International Humanitarian Law (IHL), especially the principle of distinction codified in Article 48 of Additional Protocol I (1977) and Customary IHL Rule 1. Attacks on civilian homes, hospitals, schools, and cultural sites violate Articles 51(2) and 52(2) of the Protocol, as well as Rule 14, which prohibits excessive incidental harm. Evidence suggests repeated breaches of Rule 103, prohibiting collective punishment.

 

• The principle of proportionality under Article 51(5)(b) of Additional Protocol I has also been violated. Strikes on critical infrastructure such as water systems and power grids have produced humanitarian crises disproportionate to any military gain. This has led to blackouts, water shortages, and serious medical system disruption, exceeding acceptable collateral damage under IHL.

 

• Attacks on nuclear and scientific facilities threaten global security and contravene the IAEA Safeguards Agreements under the NPT, as well as IAEA General Conference Resolutions GC(XXIX)/RES/444 and GC(XXXIV)/RES/533. Such actions violate Article 1 of the 1994 Convention on Nuclear Safety and parallel earlier condemned attacks, notably UN Security Council Resolution 487 (1981) regarding Iraq’s Osirak reactor.

 

• Targeted assassinations of scientists and officials constitute extrajudicial killings, violating Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and qualifying as war crimes under the Rome Statute, particularly where due process is absent.

 

• Strikes on sites containing dangerous forces—such as nuclear reactors and chemical facilities—violate Article 56 of Additional Protocol I and Customary IHL Rule 42, which mandate precautions to prevent widespread civilian harm and environmental disaster.

 

• The destruction of universities, cultural heritage, and research institutions breaches Article 15(1)(b) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966), directly undermining national development and global cultural and scientific heritage.

 

In view of the grave and escalating violations set out above, and in accordance with the legal and moral responsibilities vested in the bodies under your jurisdiction, we urge the immediate implementation of the following measures to uphold international law and avert irreversible harm to global order and the international society:

1. a formal and unequivocal condemnation of the Israeli regime’s strikes is required, recognising them as breaches of international law, including but not limited to international humanitarian law, human rights norms, and nuclear safety law, and as an affront to the sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran and international peace and security.

 

2. we call for the urgent convening of an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council and/or General Assembly, under the Uniting for Peace framework, to address the legal and geopolitical consequences of the Israeli regime’s actions.

 

3. an impartial international fact-finding mission should be established under UN auspices, with input from relevant Special Rapporteurs, to investigate the legality and humanitarian impact of the strikes.

 

4. the aggressions must be referred to the International Criminal Court for preliminary examination under Articles 7 and 8 of the Rome Statute.

 

5. a binding resolution must be adopted demanding cessation of hostilities, reparations, and guarantees of non-repetition.

 

6. UNESCO must dispatch experts to assess damage to educational, scientific, and cultural institutions.

 

7. international safeguards must be issued to protect nuclear facilities from military attack.

This is not a national crisis, nor a regional matter but a grave assault on the legal and moral order underpinning our universal, shared foundations of international and civilisational law. Silence and inaction now ushers in an irreversible deterioration of the international order, endangering peace, knowledge, and the survival of humanity itself — a reality that has united the noble people of Iran in steadfast support for their nation and in profound moral revulsion toward the Zionist regime.

Now is the moment to contain it—decisively, lawfully, and without delay.

We urge Your Excellencies to act.

 

Respectfully submitted,

21 June 2025

Professor Saied Reza Ameli (IRAN)

Head of the UNESCO Chair on Cyberspace and Culture: Dual-spacisation of the World (UCCC)

(UNESCO No. 2015IR1107), Dean of Faculty of Studies – University of Tehran

 

Signatories:

 

1. Seyed Mohammad Marandi (IRAN)

Professor at the University of Tehran

 

2. Massoud Shadjareh (IRAN)

Chair of Islamic Human Rights Commission-London, consultative status at the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs

 

3. Scott Ritter (USA)

former UN Special Commission weapons inspector

 

4. Norman Finkelstein (USA)

Political Scientist and son of Holocaust-survivor parents

 

5. Richard Falk (USA)

Professor Emeritus of International Law at Princeton University and former UN Special Rapporteur

 

6. Jan Kavan (Czech)

President of the UN General Assembly 2002-2003, former Minister of Foreign Affairs

 

7. Yanis Varoufakis (Greece)

Former Minister of Finance, economist and professor at the University of London, the University of Sydny and the University of Athens

 

8. Denis Halliday (Ireland)

Former UNSG deputy and ex-UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Iraq

 

9. Alberto Bradanini (Italy)

Former director of UN Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute and UN Research Institute on Crime and Drugs, former ambassador in Tehran and Beijing, president of the Centre for Contemporary China Studies in Italy

 

10. Hans-Christof Graf von Sponeck (Germany)

Former UN Assistant Secretary-General and ex-UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq

 

11. Cindy Sheehan (USA)

“Peace Mom”, Antiwar Activist and author, 2012 vice-presidential nominee of the Peace and Freedom Party

 

12. Raimondo Caria (Italy)

Retired general of the Italian Army

 

13. Ajamu Baraka (USA)

2016 Green Party nominee for Vice President, Director of Black Alliance for Peace

 

14. Aiman Athirah Sabu (Malaysia)

Deputy Minister of Housing and Local Government, Former deputy Minister of Women, Family and Community Development, former Member of Parliament

 

15. Alain Corvez (France)

Former advisor to the General Commanding the UN Force in South Lebanon

 

16. Ralph Bosshard (Switzerland)

Former Military Advisor to the Secretary General of Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe

 

17. Mick Wallace (Ireland)

former Member of the European Parliament, Politician

18. Clare Daly (Ireland)

former Member of the European Parliament, Politician

 

19. Tommy Sheridan (Scotland)

former Member of the Scottish Parliament, Politician

 

20. Jean Bricmont (Belgian)

Theoretical Physicist and Philosopher of Science, Professor at the Catholic University of Louvain

 

21. Michael Springmann (USA)

former Diplomat, Attorney and Counselor at Law

 

22. David Barsamian (USA)

founder and Director of Alternative Radio (heard on 250 radio stations worldwide), Writer

 

23. Art Olivier (USA)

2002 Libertarian Party nominee for Vice President, former Mayor of Bellflower, California, Libertarian Candidate for California Governor in 2006

 

24. Pino Cabras (Italy)

former vice-president of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Italian Parliament

 

25. Santiago Zabala (Spain)

Philosopher and ICREA Research Professor at the Pompeu Fabra University

 

26. Michel Chossudovsky (Canada)
    Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Ottawa, Director of Centre for Research on Globalization

 

27. Farid Esack (South Africa)

Appointed by Nelson Mandela as gender-equality commissioner Head of the Department of Religion Studies at the University of Johannesburg and former professor at Harvard University

 

28. Hamid Algar (USA)
    Professor Emeritus of Economics at of Persian studies at the University of California, Berkeley

 

29. Imam Suhaib Webb (USA)

Former imam of the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center, Former Resident Scholar of the Islamic Center of New York University

 

30. Iurie Roșca (Moldavia)

Former Deputy Prime Minister and former deputy of parliament for almost 2 decades

 

31. Datuk Raja Kamarul Bahrin (Malaysia)

Former Deputy Minister of Housing and Local Government

 

32. Sara Flounders (USA)

Co-director of the International Action Center and Secretariat Member of the Workers World Party

 

33. Sheikh Ahmad Awang (Malaysia)

Chairman of the Alliance of World Mosque in Defence of Al Aqsa, former President of the Malaysian Ulama Association

 

34. David Swanson (USA)

Executive Director of World Beyond War, Antiwar activist

35. MP Suhaizan Kayat (Malaysia)

Member of Parliament who represents the National Trust Party, former Political Secretary to the Ministers of Domestic Trade and Living Costs

 

36. Mazin B. Qumsiyeh (Palestine)

Director of the Palestine Museum of Natural History and the Palestine Institute for Biodiversity and Sustainability at Bethlehem University

 

37. MP Mohd Sany Hamzan (Malaysia)

Member of Parliament, member of National Trust Party

 

38. Ramón Grosfoguel (Puerto Rico)
    Sociologist and Professor Emeritus at the Department of Ethnic Studies at the University of California, Berkeley

 

39. Zareena A. Grewal (USA)

Historical Anthropologist and Professor of American studies, religious studies, and ethnicity, race, and migration at Yale University, documentary filmmaker

 

40. MP Mohd Sany Hamzan (Malaysia)

Member of Parliament, member of National Trust Party

 

41. MP Aminolhuda Hassan (Malaysia)

Member of Parliament

 

42. Abbas Edalat(UK-IRAN)

Professor of computer science and mathematics at Imperial College London and founder of Campaign Against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran (CASMII) and the Science and Arts

 

43. MP Ahmad Tarmizi bin Sulaiman (Malaysia)

Member of Parliament, former Deputy President of the Malaysian Consultative Council of Islamic Organisation

 

44. Alice Rothchild (USA)

former professor at Harvard Medical School, author, and filmmaker

 

45. MP Azli Yusof (Malaysia)

Member of Parliament who represents the National Trust Party

 

46. Jodi Dean (USA)

Political Theorist and professor at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, former Erasmus Professor of the Humanities in the Faculty of Philosophy at Erasmus University Rotterdam

 

47. Mohd Hatta Ramli (Malaysia)

Senator, physician and former Deputy Minister of Entrepreneur Development

 

48. Haim Bresheeth (UK)

Former Professor at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), the University of East London, Campaign Against Misrepresentation in Public Affairs, Information and the News

 

49. Mujahid Yusof Rawa (Malaysia)

Senator, former Minister in charge of Religious Affairs Foundation (SAF)

 

50. James H. Fetzer (USA)

McKnight Professor Emeritus of the philosophy of science at the University of Minnesota Duluth

51. Abdul Ghani Samsudin (Malaysia)

Chairman Secretariate for the Ulama Assembly of Asia

 

52. Miko Peled (USA)

Antiwar Activist and Author

 

53. Wan Mohamad Sheikh Abdul Aziz (Malaysia)

 President of the Ulama Association of Malaysia, former Director-General of the Islamic Development Department of Malaysia

 

54. Revd. Stephen Sizer (UK)

former Vicar of Christ Church of Virginia Water in Surrey and director of the Peacemaker Trust

 

55. William O. Beeman (USA)

Professor Emeritus at the Department of Anthropology, the University of Minnesota

 

56. Lauren Booth (UK)

Author, Journalist and Antiwar Activist

 

57. Kevin B. MacDonald (USA)

Professor Emeritus of Evolutionary Psychology at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB)

 

58. Lawrence Davidson (USA)

Professor Emeritus of Middle East History at West Chester University

 

59. Augusto Sinagra (Italy)

Professor Emeritus of European Law at Sapienza University of Rome

 

60. Claudio Mutti (Italy)

Former Professor at the University of Bologna, Director of “Eurasia, Rivista di Studi Geopolitici”

 

61. Claudio Moffa (Italy)

Former Professor of History of International Relations at the University of Teramo

 

62. Angelo d’Orsi (Italy)

Historian of Philosophy and Professor of History of political doctrines at the University of Turin

 

63. David Miller (UK)

Sociologist and former professor at the University of Strathclyde, the University of Bath and the University of Bristol

 

64. Jacek Bartyzel (Poland)

Professor of Political Philosophy and Political Theory at Nicolaus Copernicus University

 

65. Ali Hassan (UK)

CEO of Muslim Public Affairs Committee in the UK

 

66. Laurie King (USA)

Professor at Department of anthropology, Georgetown University

 

67. Maria Poumier (France)

Former Professor at the University of Paris (Sorbonne), Professor at University of Havana

 

68. Denis Rancourt (Canada)

former professor at the University of Ottawa, Co-Director of CORRELATION Research in Public Interest

69. Rodney Shakespeare (UK)

Economist and Visiting professor at Trisakti University

 

70. Bruno Drweski (France)

Professor at the National Institute of Oriental Languages ​​and Civilizations (Université Paris-Cité)

 

71. Pamela S. Murray (USA)

Historian and Professor Emerita at the University of Alabama at Birmingham

 

72. E. Michael Jones (USA)

former Professor at Saint Mary’s College in Indiana, founder of Culture Wars Magazine

 

73. Sandew Hira (Netherlands)

Founder of Decolonial International Network known for his decolonial theory, Director of International Institute for Scientific Research

 

74. Denijal Jegić (Lebanon)

Professor of communication in the Department of Communication at Lebanese American University

 

75. Konrad Rekas (Poland – Scotland)

Lecturer at Nottingham Trent University

 

76. Ladislav Zemanek (Czech)

Historian and Research Fellow at the China-CEE Institute, former Politician

 

77. Marta Araújo (Portugal)

Senior Researcher at the Centre for Social Studies, University of Coimbra

 

78. Daniel Estulin (Lithuania)

Writer and thinker whose main interest is the Bilderberg Group

 

79. Robert Fantina (Canada)

Board Member of Canadian Voices for Palestinian Rights

 

80. Alison Weir (USA)

Investigative journalist, Founder and executive director of If Americans Knew and president of the Council for the National Interest 

 

81. David Rovics (USA)

Singer and Songwriter, Antiwar Musician

 

82. Jennifer Loewenstein (USA)

Antiwar Activist and Journalist, author at The Journal of Palestine Studies and CounterPunch

 

83. Pepe Escobar (Brazil)

Geopolitical Analyst and Journalist

 

84. William Rodriguez (USA)

Antiwar Activist

 

85. Rabbi Ahron Cohen (UK)

Spokesperson of the worldwide religious group Neturei Karta

 

 

86. John Minto (Scotland)

Co-Chair of the Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa

 

87. Yvonne Ridley (UK)

Journalist and Author, Antiwar Activist

 

88. Valérie Bugault (France)

Geopolitical Analyst and Journalist

 

89. Ahmed Bensaada (Canada)

Academician, author and Winner of Canada’s Primer Minister prize for High Education

 

90. Christian Bouchet (France)

former Politician and Antiwar Activist, PhD anthropology

 

91. Jean Michel Vernochet (France)

Former Journalist of Le Figaro Magazine, Writer

 

92. Kevin J. Barrett (USA)

Arabist-Islamologist Scholar, former Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison

 

93. Revd. Andrew Ashdown (UK)

30 years of Interreligious Initiatives and Dialogues in Africa, Middle East and the UK

 

94. Youssef Hindi (France)

Writer, Historian of religions and Geopolitologist

 

95. Rabbi Dovid Feldman (USA)

Member of the worldwide religious group Neturei Karta

 

96. Sander Hicks (USA)

Guitarist and Publisher, Antiwar Activist

 

97. Peter Koenig (Switzerland)

Economist and Geopolitical Analyst with more than 30 years of experience in the World Bank, the World Health Organization and the Swiss Development Cooperation

 

98. Imam Muhammad al-Asi (USA)

Former Imam of the Islamic Center in Washington, Research Fellow at the Institute of Contemporary Islamic Thought

 

99. Father Dave Smith (Australia)

Social Educator, Antiwar Activist

 

100. Jürgen Cain Külbel (Germany)

Investigative Journalist and Author

 

101. Greta Berlin (USA)

Co-founder of the Free Gaza movement

 

102. Eric Walberg (Canada)

Geopolitical Expert and Author

 

 

103. Merlin Miller (USA)

2012 Presidential Candidate and Independent Film Director

 

104. Howard Druan (USA)

Member of Green Party, Retired Member of the State Bar of Arizona

 

105. Adrián Salbuchi (Argentine)

Political Analyst, Writer

 

106. Dragana Trifković (Serbia)

Director General of the Center for Geostrategic Studies in Belgrade

 

107. Hafsa Kara-Mustapha (UK)

Journalist and Author, Expert of North Africa and UK relationship

 

108. Paulina Aroch Fugellie (Mexico)

Professor at the Department of Humanities, Metropolitan Autonomous University

 

109. Lorenzo Maria Pacini (Italy)

Head of the Department of Geopolitics at UniDolomiti of Belluno and professor at Libera Università

 

110. Nina Luxenberg (USA)

Politician and Member of the Green Party

 

111. Lucien Cerise (France)

Author of Governing by Chaos, Antiwar activist

 

112. Andrea Meza Torres (Mexico)

Professor at the Department of Anthropology, Metropolitan Autonomous University

 

113. Abdullah Sudin Ab Rahman (Malaysia)

President of HALUAN (humanitarian relief, education, and community development), former Chief Executive Officer at Darulnaim College of Technology for 12 years

 

114. Leslie Varenne (France)

Journalist and founder of the Institute for Monitoring and Study of International Relations (Iveris)

 

115. Daniele Trabucco (Italy)

Tenured Professor of Constitutional Law at San Domenico University Institute of Rome

 

116. Leonid Savin (Russia)

Geopolitical analyst, Chief editor of Geopolitika.ru (from 2008), founder and chief editor of Journal of Eurasian Affairs

 

117. Jeff Cohen (USA)

Retired professor at Ithaca College and Cofounder of RootsAction Education Fund

 

118. Caleb Maupin (USA)

Founder of Center for Political Innovation, Journalist

 

119. Zaher Birawi (UK-Palestine)

Chair of the Palestine Forum of Britain, Journalist

 

 

120. Muhammad Rabbani (UK)

Managing Director CAGE International, Cage Advocacy Group for Empowerment

 

121. Margherita Furlan (Italy)
     Journalist and director of Casa Del Sole TV

 

122. Thami Khalid (Belguim)

Co-director of Justice San Frontieres

 

123. Jacob Cohen (France)

Academic, Novelist and Antiwar Activist

 

124. Richard Ray (USA)

Editor and Antiwar Activist

 

125. Ernest H. Wittenbreder Jr. (USA)

President of Power Electronics Innovations Laboratory

 

126. Mary Gleysteen (USA)

Member of Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action

 

127. Shahridan Faiez (Malaysia)

Director of Think City

 

128. Balkhisa Bashir (UK)

Co-founder and director of Barwaqa Relief Organisation

 

129. Michael Spath (USA)

Founder of Indiana Center for Middle East Peace

 

130. Gordon Duff (USA)

Vietnam War Veteran and Antiwar Activist

 

131. Mohd Azmi Abdul Hamid (Malaysia)

President of Malaysia Consultative Council of Islamic Organizations

 

132. Ahmad Fahmi Shamsuddin (Malaysia)

President of the Muslim Youth Movement

 

133. Glen Milner (USA)

Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action

 

134. Wording Saidi (Belgium)

Co-spokesperson of Bruxelles Pantheres

 

135. Mouhad Reghif (Belgium)

Co-spokesperson of Bruxelles Pantheres