USA bombed the historical medical research centre in Tehran as the illegal war of aggression from the United States and Israel against Iran entered its fifth week, with rising casualties and calls for international action.<\/p>\n
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Iran\u2019s health ministry said the Pasteur Institute in Tehran was hit on Thursday morning. The centre dates to 1920 and plays a role in disease control and research. Spokesperson Hossein Kermanpour said the strike marked \u201ca direct assault on international health security\u201d and called on global health bodies to respond and support reconstruction.<\/p>\n
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Since the start of the unprovoked attack by Israel and USA on Iran, more than 316 hospitals and medical facilities have suffered damage or destruction. The World Health Organization said the strike left the institute unable to continue services and confirmed more than 20 attacks on healthcare sites since early March.<\/p>\n
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President Masoud Pezeshkian urged international organisations and medical professionals to act. \u201cWhat message does attacking hospitals, pharmaceutical companies and the Pasteur Institute convey?\u201d he said on X<\/a>. He called the strikes a \u201ccrime against humanity\u201d and asked the World Health Organization, the Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders to respond.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei described the attack as \u201cheartbreaking, cruel, despicable, and utterly outrageous\u201d and said the institute stood as one of the oldest public health centres in the region.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n The strikes came hours after a US attack destroyed a suspension bridge linking Tehran and Karaj. Iranian state media reported eight deaths and 95 injuries. The structure, valued at $400m, was still under construction and completely civilian in nature. Footage shared by US President Donald Trump showed the central span collapsing after impact. Later US bombed 3 other civilian bidges.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n \u201cThe biggest bridge in Iran comes tumbling down, never to be used again,\u201d Trump wrote on social media, adding that there would be \u201cmuch more to follow\u201d if no settlement is reached. He also warned that power plants across Iran could face strikes.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Iran rejected claims that the bridge served military use and said the attack targeted civilian infrastructure. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said such actions \u201cwill not compel Iranians to surrender\u201d and described them as a sign of \u201cmoral collapse\u201d.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n The conflict has killed more than 2,000 people in Iran and wounded over 26,000, according to official figures. More than 600 schools have also been hit. Across the region, Iran has launched missile and drone attacks against Israel and sites linked to US forces in Gulf states.<\/p>\n
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