Tehran: Secretary of Iran's High Council for Human Rights says no political objective, geopolitical dispute, or military goal can justify killing children, referring to the deadly US-Israeli attack on the Shajareh Tayyebeh school in Minab. 'The principle of proportionality and the principle of taking necessary precautions to protect civilians are not principles that can be set aside under any circumstances,' Nasser Seraj said on Saturday, speaking at a ceremony commemorating victims of terrorism.

According to Islamic Republic News Agency, Seraj emphasized that no political ideal, geopolitical dispute, or military objective should compromise the dignity and security of children's lives. On the first day of the US-Israeli war of aggression against Iran on February 28, the Shajareh Tayyebeh elementary school in the southern Iranian city of Minab was targeted in a US missile strike, killing at least 175 people, including 168 schoolgirls.

Seraj highlighted that thousands of Iranians, including children, women, men, and elderly people, as well as ordinary citizens, officials, scientists, military and law-enforcement personnel, clerics, workers, and students, have lost their lives in terrorist operations. He noted that terrorism impacts not only those who are killed but also their families and communities, with its effects sometimes enduring for generations.

Criticizing what he described as double standards in the international response to terrorism, Seraj pointed out that attacks against Iranian citizens often face silence, justification, or 'political narrative-building.' He asserted that if human rights are universal, their observance must also be universal, emphasizing that the value of a child's life should not depend on nationality.

Addressing state terrorism and military operations, Seraj argued that the fight against terrorism should not be directed solely at non-state groups. He called for the international community to adopt a unified stance against any organized use of violence against civilians, regardless of the perpetrators' identity. Seraj urged for investigations into attacks on civilians and accountability for those responsible, stressing that support for victims should go beyond symbolic gestures to include legal, psychological, economic, and social assistance.

'Human lives are not politically negotiable,' Seraj concluded, insisting that terrorism must be condemned 'wherever and by whomever' it is committed.