UN rights chief condemns Iran's wide-scale attacks on Israel

GENEVA

The UN human rights chief on Sunday "strongly" condemned Iran's wide-scale drone and missile attacks on Israel, in retaliation for a strike in Damascus that killed several Iranian commanders.

"Such missile and drone attacks had the potential to cause significant harm beyond military targets and put civilians at risk," Volker Turk said in a statement. "This only adds fuel to the fire in the whole region."

Reminding all parties of their obligations under international humanitarian law and international human rights law, Turk said: "I am deeply worried about the potential humanitarian and human rights cost if this escalation leads to wider conflict in the Middle East."

He urged all parties to take steps to de-escalate the situation and called on third states with influence to do all in their power to ensure there is no further deterioration in "an already extremely precarious situation."

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched a barrage of drones and missiles at Israel late on Saturday in response to the April 1 attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus.

Iran is said to have fired more than 300 drones and missiles in an attack that lasted several hours, many of which were intercepted by Israeli air defense systems. Allies including the US, UK and France also helped ward off the attack.