Iran has strongly condemned a joint US-Israeli attack on the Pasteur Institute of Iran, a historic medical research center in Tehran, calling it a clear war crime. The statement came from Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei, who said the assault targeted Iran’s civilian health, science, and basic survival rights. The attack reportedly occurred in March and left the facility completely inoperative.

Baghaei’s remarks followed a report in the medical journal The Lancet, which warned that the destruction of the institute posed a major threat to regional health security. According to the journal, the World Health Organization confirmed that the institute was rendered fully nonfunctional after the bombing and could no longer provide health services.

The report also noted that Iran’s public health system was already fragile due to years of international sanctions, and the airstrike further devastated its capacity to serve the population.