Iran condemns strike on century-old Pasteur Institute as 'beyond a war crime'

Iran condemns strike on century-old Pasteur Institute as 'beyond a war crime'
Pasteur Institute of Iran destroyed in Israeli airstrike. / bne IntelliNews
By bnm Gulf bureau April 2, 2026

Iran's foreign ministry condemned a US-Israeli strike on the Pasteur Institute of Iran on April 2, calling the attack "beyond a war crime" and "a direct attack on the core values of humanity and global civilisation,"  state news reported.

Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the strike on one of the oldest and most prominent research and public health centres in the Middle East was "heartbreaking, brutal, and deeply inhumane."

The Pasteur Institute of Iran was established in 1920 under an agreement between the Pasteur Institute of Paris and the Iranian government. It remains a member of the international Pasteur network and serves as a research, production, service and educational institution dedicated to public health.

Informed sources said the attack targeted "a century-old pillar of global health," posing a serious threat to international health security. The strike constitutes a clear violation of the Geneva Conventions and international humanitarian law, the sources said.

"The aggression against Pasteur Institute of Iran—a century-old pillar of global health & member of International Pasteur Network—is a direct assault on international health security," Health ministry official Hossein Kermanpour wrote on social media.

The attack on the Pasteur Institute follows a pattern of strikes hitting Iranian civilian and health-related infrastructure. A Red Crescent-affiliated pharmaceutical factory had its production lines for hormone drugs destroyed in strikes on March 31 and April 1, with repairs expected to take a month.

Iran's Chamber of Commerce headquarters on Taleghani Street in central Tehran was also damaged by a nearby blast.

The China-Pakistan five-point peace plan issued on March 31 specifically called on all parties to stop attacks on civilian infrastructure. Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the same day that the use of military force against civilian targets was "unacceptable."

Iran's Ministry of Health has reported more than 2,076 people killed since the war began on February 28, including 216 children. Trump threatened in his primetime address on April 1 to destroy Iran's power plants and oil infrastructure if no deal is reached within two to three weeks.

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