U.S. Forces Issue Safety Warning to Civilians in Iran. [Mullahcracy adopting "palestinian" human shields tactics]

TAMPA, Fla. – U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) is issuing a safety warning to civilians in Iran, March 8, as Iran’s terrorist regime blatantly disregards the safety of innocent people.

The Iranian regime is using heavily populated civilian areas to conduct military operations, including launching one-way attack drones and ballistic missiles. This dangerous decision risks the lives of all civilians in Iran since locations used for military purposes lose protected status and could become legitimate military targets under international law.

Iranian forces are using crowded areas surrounded by civilians in cities such as Dezful, Esfahan and Shiraz to launch attack drones and ballistic missiles.

U.S. forces strongly urge civilians in Iran to stay at home. The Iranian regime is knowingly endangering innocent lives. Additionally, Iranian forces are jeopardizing the safety of innocent people throughout the Middle East by deliberately and indiscriminately targeting civilian airports, hotels, and residential neighborhoods.

“Iran’s terrorist regime is blatantly disregarding civilian lives by attacking Gulf partners while compromising the safety of their own people,” said Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of CENTCOM.

Iran has launched hundreds of ballistic missiles and thousands of one-way attack drones since Feb 28. However, launch rates have drastically declined as U.S. and partner forces decimate Iran’s military capabilities.

The U.S. military takes every feasible precaution to minimize harm to civilians but cannot guarantee civilian safety in or near facilities used by the Iranian regime for military purposes. Unlike the Iranian regime, U.S. forces do not target or intentionally risk the safety of civilians.

The Geneva Conventions, which attempt to grasp rational, moral threads to apply during wars’ barbarity formed the basis for our operations. For my Navy experience helping to pulverize a major enemy base in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam, I especially liked the obvious reading of Articles 28 and 29 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. The VC were responsible for any civilian deaths in the base our ship shelled. Those civilians qualified as Protected Persons within the enemy’s physical control and could not be used to render certain points and areas immune from military operations. The Convention articles are as follows:

ART. 28. — The presence of a protected person may not be used to render certain points or areas immune from military operations.

ART. 29. — The Party to the conflict in whose hands protected persons may be, is responsible for the treatment accorded to them by its agents, irrespective of any individual responsibility which may be incurred.

The passages furnished the basis for rules of engagement we followed when attacking a legitimate military target. The base the SEAL team identified in the U Minh Forest had been continuously used at least since the Vietnamese had fought the Japanese, so families of the VC would have been residents as well. Distance provided me with the blessing of avoiding the cleanup afterwards for the mess I helped create with our 445 rounds of 3”50cal. However, I am certain our task force was effective. We helped to permanently shatter the last intact VC main force unit, forcing it to surrender control the region.

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