ABNA24 - The mayor of the Iranian city of Mashhad has issued an open letter to participants at the 13th session of the World Urban Forum in Baku, calling for international action against attacks on civilian infrastructure in West Asia and warning against what he described as the normalization of violence against noncombatants.
The forum, organized by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), was held in the Azerbaijani capital from May 17 to 22 and brought together representatives from more than 100 countries to discuss sustainable urban development, city diplomacy and international cooperation on urban challenges.
In the letter addressed to senior UN-Habitat officials, international urban organizations and mayors attending the gathering, Mashhad Mayor Mohammadreza Ghalandar-Sharif accused the United States and the Israeli regime of contributing to what he described as systematic destruction of civilian infrastructure in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.
The statement focused in particular on an airstrike on an elementary school in the southern Iranian city of Minab, which the mayor described as evidence of a broader collapse in humanitarian and legal norms during modern conflicts. According to the letter, the attack, occurred on Feb. 28, killed 176 schoolchildren between the ages of six and 10, most of them girls.
Iranian officials have repeatedly accused the United States and the Zionist regime of Israel of involvement in attacks targeting civilians in the region, allegations both countries have denied in previous disputes.
The mayor said the destruction of schools, residential neighborhoods and public infrastructure across the region represented not only a political issue but also a humanitarian and urban planning crisis that threatened citizens’ rights to housing, education and security.
Citing figures related to the war in Gaza, the statement said more than 40,000 people had been killed and large residential areas reduced to rubble. It also claimed that in Iran more than 1,288 educational facilities and 36,000 civilian buildings had been damaged, while urban destruction and mass displacement had affected southern Lebanon.
Ghalandar-Sharif criticized what he called the silence of international institutions and urban organizations, saying a lack of response risked creating impunity for attacks on civilians.
“If attacks on schools and the killing of children remain unanswered, no city in the world will be safe from the threat of war and state terrorism,” the statement said.
The letter proposed a five-point framework for international action, including the establishment of a global protocol for the protection of civilian sites, the formation of an independent fact-finding committee on incidents in Minab and Gaza, and the creation of a “Baku Urban Reconstruction Fund” to support rebuilding efforts.
The mayor also urged support for legal proceedings at the International Criminal Court and called on municipalities worldwide to reconsider commercial ties with defense companies including Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.
Moreover, the statement described such measures as an ethical responsibility for municipal governments, arguing that local authorities could not remain passive in the face of attacks affecting homes, schools and urban infrastructure.
The World Urban Forum is the largest international conference focused on cities and human settlements and is coordinated by UN-Habitat to address global urban policy and sustainable development.
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