The Iranian Medical Council has called on the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and the World Medical Association (WMA) to take immediate action against the use of patients’ lives as a tool of political and military pressure.

In an official letter to the three international organizations, the council said the US government was violating international humanitarian and criminal law through inhumane measures, including economic blockade and pharmaceutical sanctions against Iran, turning patients’ lives into an instrument of political and military coercion.

Mohammad Raiszadeh, head of the Iranian Medical Council, urged the leaders of international health organizations to respond promptly and responsibly to what he described as inhumane acts and the weaponization of medical resources in armed conflicts.

He cited previous reports of direct attacks on healthcare facilities, medical infrastructure, and pharmaceutical facilities, adding that the US attack on the Touska, a vessel carrying medicines and, in particular, vital supplies for dialysis patients, was another clear example of directly endangering patients’ health and lives.