Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei has termed a US strike near Shahid Baqaei Hospital, a children’s cancer treatment centre in Ahvaz, as a “cowardly war crime”.

“This barbaric attack, reminiscent of Israel’s atrocities against healthcare facilities, caused severe suffering and anxiety upon the hospitalised children, and forced the emergency evacuation of 211 patients undergoing chemotherapy,” he said on X.

Baqaei said the attack “constitutes a cowardly war crime against the most innocent of human beings — children who are bravely fighting for their lives”.

“Those who ceaselessly preach human rights, yet deliberately turn a blind eye to the targeting of hospitals and health centres, have forfeited every shred of moral credibility,” he remarked.