ARTICLE 19 urges the Human Rights Council to address the devastating violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law unfolding in Iran and across the wider region, including military strikes by the United States and Israel against Iran, Iran’s subsequent response across the Gulf, and Israel’s offensive in Lebanon.
The humanitarian consequences of the war have been severe – at least 1,330 civilians have been killed in Iran, while at least 634 people have been killed and more than 816,000 displaced in Lebanon.
As the conflict continues to threaten the whole region and carries far-reaching international implications, ARTICLE 19 condemns the ongoing violations of the right to freedom of expression and access to information by all parties to the conflict, which further endangers lives. This includes criminalisation and restrictions on war reporting, alongside war propaganda and other information manipulation. At the same time, the Iranian authorities once again imposed a blanket internet shutdown following the attack by the United States and Israel, a tactic repeatedly used by the government, including most recently during the January 2026 protests when the regime killed over 36,500 people.
The conflict has also been marked by an increased integration of artificial intelligence for intelligence analysis, operational planning, and target identification, including by the United States and Israel, with serious implications for transparency, accountability, and the safety of civilians.
With the conflict continuing to escalate, ARTICLE 19 calls for an immediate ceasefire, protection of civilians, and accountability for international crimes, as well as for all parties to uphold the right to freedom of expression. In the words of Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran, ‘unlawful military intervention must not be mistaken for a solution to the human rights situation in Iran’.