Health movements and associations have joined calls for peace after the United States and Israel launched illegal attacks on Iran on Saturday, February 28. They warned the assault on Iran is certain to have devastating impacts on the population, risking to repeat the destruction of healthcare facilities seen in the Gaza Strip during Israel’s genocide.
Since the attacks began, Iranian authorities have reported several health facilities damaged by US and Israeli bombs, including key medical centers and in vitro fertilization departments. The reports echo attacks on healthcare infrastructure in 2025 and the systematic targeting and dismantling of Palestinian healthcare since October 2023 – despite repeated calls by international bodies like the World Health Organization to respect international law and protect medical spaces during armed conflict.
Read more: Israeli destruction of Gaza’s healthcare is a blueprint for future imperialist wars
The People’s Health Movement (PHM) said US-Israel attacks “amount to an act of war that endangers the civilian population living in the region in pursuit of domination over natural resources, trade routes and the entire region.”
Adding to this context, the British medical network Medact warned that the ongoing attacks cannot be isolated from previous Western interventions in the region. “In the past, ‘pre-emptive war’ and ‘regime change’ have consistently preceded acts of Western imperialist violence in West Asia and North Africa,” they wrote. “In Iran specifically, we have seen historic military interventions by the British empire and the US to serve to overthrow governments, further Western control, and exploit resources.”
Health workers also pointed to grave dangers posed by possible damage to nuclear facilities, which could “cause widespread devastation and significant releases of radioactivity,” according to International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW). “And the situation could escalate into a regional war and ultimately lead to the use of nuclear weapons – the very thing the world most needs to prevent,” they added.
Read more: US nuclear tests would be catastrophic for health
The overwhelming demand from health movements’ statements is peace – with respect for Iran’s sovereignty. “Protecting the right of nations to determine their own futures is inseparable from safeguarding the health and lives of their peoples,” PHM emphasized.
“As a movement committed to health justice, and achieving health through peace, we must do all we can to stop our government enabling yet more terror and violence,” Medact concluded, reflecting on possible engagement of the health community in Britain where the Labor government has signaled the US would be able to use its bases during attacks. In an effort to prevent continuation and escalation of destruction, health workers and their associations can and must demand “political action towards military de-escalation, diplomatic negotiation, and resolutions towards peace,” the organization concluded.
People’s Health Dispatch is a fortnightly bulletin published by the People’s Health Movement and Peoples Dispatch*. For more articles and subscription to People’s Health Dispatch, click* here.
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