Amnesty accuses Iran of firing cluster munitions at Israel
'Last month, the Iranian forces fired ballistic missiles whose warheads contained submunitions into populated residential areas of Israel,' the human rights group said, citing new research.
The organisation said it analysed photos and videos showing cluster munitions that, according to media reports, struck inside the Gush Dan metropolitan area around Tel Aviv on June 19.
On top of that, the southern city of Beersheba on June 20 and Rishon LeZion to the south of Tel Aviv on June 22 were also 'struck with ordnance that left multiple impact craters consistent with the submunitions seen in Gush Dan', Amnesty said.
'By using such weapons in or near populated residential areas, Iranian forces endangered civilian lives,' said Erika Guevara Rosas, senior director at Amnesty International.
'Iranian forces' deliberate use of such inherently indiscriminate weapons is a blatant violation of international humanitarian law.'
Cluster munitions explode in mid-air and scatter bomblets. Some of them do not explode on impact and can cause casualties over time, particularly among children.
Neither Iran nor Israel is among more than a hundred countries that are party to the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions, which prohibits the use, transfer, production and storage of cluster bombs.
Amnesty said international law 'prohibits the use of inherently indiscriminate weapons, and launching indiscriminate attacks that kill or injure civilians constitutes a war crime'.
Israel and Iran fought a 12-day war sparked by an Israeli bombing campaign on June 13.
Israel said the strikes were aimed at preventing the Islamic republic from developing a nuclear weapon, an ambition Tehran has consistently denied.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Shafaq News
31 minutes ago
- Shafaq News
Palestinian journalist wounded by Israeli fire near Gaza border
Shafaq News – Gaza A Palestinian journalist working for Yemen Today TV was wounded on Sunday while covering events near the northern edge of the Gaza Strip, local sources confirmed. Abdalhadi Farahat, a field correspondent, was struck by Israeli army fire in the Al-Sudaniya area, adjacent to the Zikim military zone. The extent of his injuries remains undisclosed. Farahat was on assignment near the frontline when he came under fire. The Al-Sudaniya region, known in Israeli military terms as Zikim, lies along a tense stretch of the Gaza-Israel border that has witnessed repeated clashes. His injury adds to the mounting toll on media workers in Gaza. Since the onset of Israel's war on the enclave in October 2023, at least 228 journalists and media professionals have been killed, including 46 reportedly targeted in connection with their reporting.
Shafaq News
4 hours ago
- Shafaq News
Iran's Quds Force chief held secret meetings with Iraqi Shiite leaders
Shafaq News – Baghdad The commander of Iran's Quds Force, Esmail Qaani, paid a brief, unannounced visit to Baghdad in recent days, where he met with senior figures in Iraq's Coordination Framework. Informed sources told Shafaq News that Qaani's visit lasted approximately ten hours and included separate meetings with former prime minister and State of Law Coalition leader Nouri al-Maliki, National Wisdom Movement (Al-Hikma) leader Ammar al-Hakim, Fatah Alliance head Hadi al-Amiri, and Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq leader Humam Hammoudi. The discussions, the source revealed, focused on regional developments and Iraq's internal political landscape, with particular attention to upcoming elections and shifting alliances within the Shiite-led Coordination Framework, a major political bloc supported by Tehran. The Iranian commander did not meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani during this visit. This marks Qaani's second visit to Baghdad within two months. On June 28, he reportedly met with figures from the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), an umbrella of mostly Shiite paramilitary groups backed by Iran. No official statements have been issued by either the Iraqi or Iranian sides regarding these meetings.
Rudaw Net
6 hours ago
- Rudaw Net
Iran executes over 100 Kurds in 2025 amid post-war crackdown: Watchdog
Also in Iran Tensions rise in Iranian parliament ahead of IAEA visit At least five killed in attack on Iran courthouse Iranian diplomat says had 'frank' talks with European powers Iran says to continue nuclear enrichment A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iran has executed at least 100 Kurdish citizens since the start of 2025, including several political prisoners, a human rights watchdog warned Sunday. The surge comes as Iran has been upping its sentences on detainees, following its recent 12-day war with Israel. 'Since the beginning of 2025, the Islamic Republic of Iran has executed at least 100 Kurds, including four political prisoners,' reported the Oslo-based Hengaw Human Rights Organization. The watchdog censured what it described as Tehran's 'death-driven and discriminatory policy,' calling it 'part of a broader project of structural oppression against the Kurdish people that must be halted immediately.' On Saturday, Hengaw released a detailed report documenting a steep deterioration in the country's human rights landscape following the June conflict between Iran and Israel. According to the watchdog, between the outbreak of the war on June 13 and a month after the ceasefire on June 24, 'at least 85 prisoners have been executed in various prisons' across Iran. Among the executed were six individuals - three of them Kurdish - accused of 'espionage for Israel.' Hengaw noted that these executions were carried out secretly, with no final visits permitted for families. Hengaw also reported that 'at least 30 political activists, including 18 Kurdish citizens, were sentenced to death or imprisonment" by the Iranian judiciary over the past month, with cumulative sentences amounting to 272 years and 9 months. Additionally, the Oslo-based human rights monitor pointed to widespread arrests. 'From the start of the Iran-Israel war until one month after the ceasefire, at least 1,800 people were arrested across Iran,' it said. Kurds made up the largest share, with 500 detained. Many were accused by Iranian intelligence agencies of "espionage for Israel." For its part, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) on Thursday corroborated these findings, reporting that "over 330 Kurdish activists and other citizens' were arrested across Iran by the Iranian intelligence ministry and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) intelligence apparatus during the conflict with Israel and its aftermath. Among them, 18 Kurdish political activists were collectively sentenced to 221 years and 7 months in prison, and five received a total of 11 death sentences for charges including 'collaboration with [the Israeli intelligence agency] Mossad and Israel.' These reports emerge amid new measures taken by Iranian authorities to intensify the crackdown on alleged espionage and collaboration with Israel and the United States. Earlier this month, Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei, head of Iran's judiciary, ordered expedited processing of spy cases linked to Israel. 'Part of the deterrence in this matter lies in the speed of action,' Ejei said. His comments followed the Iranian parliament's passage of amendments to the country's espionage laws, significantly broadening the definition of hostile activity and introducing capital punishment for a wider range of offenses linked to Israel and the United States. Tensions between Iran and Israel escalated sharply on June 13 after Israeli airstrikes in Iran killed several senior military commanders and nuclear scientists. Iran retaliated with missile and drone attacks on Israeli targets. The conflict widened on June 22 when the United States bombed three Iranian nuclear sites, prompting Tehran to strike back with a missile attack on a US base in Qatar. A ceasefire, brokered by Washington, took effect on June 24 and has largely held. Since the ceasefire, Iranian authorities have ramped up arrests and executions of alleged spies, releasing televised confessions from several detainees. However, human rights groups have questioned the credibility of such confessions, citing longstanding concerns over Iran's use of coercion to extract false admissions.
