Amnesty: Iran Drone Strikes on Bahrain and Saudi Arabia Killed Civilians, May Be War Crimes

New evidence of civilian deaths in Iranian drone campaign

Amnesty International published new research on June 18 concluding that Iran's drone strikes on Bahrain and Saudi Arabia killed four civilians, wounded at least twelve more, and may constitute war crimes under international humanitarian law.amnesty +1 The findings drew on witness accounts, photographs, videos and physical evidence gathered from two specific attacks that took place in early March — part of a wider Iranian campaign against Gulf Cooperation Council states that has killed at least 28 people in total across the region.amnesty +1

Two documented strikes, four lives lost

In the first incident, at 2–3 a.m. on March 2, two drones struck a civilian oil tanker — the MT Stena Imperative, owned by Swedish firm Stena Bulk — while it was docked for repairs at the Arab Shipbuilding and Repair Yard in Al Hidd, Bahrain.jpost The strike killed SM Tareq, a Bangladeshi shipyard worker, and wounded two others; witnesses told Amnesty a colleague was found "on fire" with fatal head injuries.jpost The IRGC had reportedly attempted to seize the vessel weeks earlier after it was contracted by the US Maritime Administration, but at the time of the strike it was a civilian object in a civilian repair yard, making it a protected site under international law.jpost

Less than a week later, on March 8, a drone struck a labor camp in Al-Kharj, Saudi Arabia, at approximately 4 p.m., killing three Bangladeshi workers — Musharaff Hussain, 42; Abdullah Mamun; and Bachchu Mia, 35 — and wounding ten more, some requiring months of hospital treatment.jpost The victims, employees of a maintenance and cleaning company, were preparing to break their Ramadan fast when the strike hit.jpost Witnesses and forensic evidence pointed to a Shahed drone, a low-altitude weapon capable of travelling 2,000 kilometres, able to bypass several air defence systems.amnesty +1 Iran's IRGC claimed it had targeted a radar installation, but witnesses confirmed no military forces had ever been present at the camp, and the nearest military base was approximately 15 kilometres away.jpost

Calls for accountability amid a broader conflict

"Civilians are paying with their lives in attacks by Iran that must be investigated as war crimes," said Heba Morayef, Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa regional director, adding that Iran must immediately stop targeting civilian infrastructure and that victims have the right to "justice, truth, and reparations."amnesty +1 The Amnesty report arrives as a US-Iran memorandum of understanding on ending hostilities was signed, with Amnesty separately warning that any such deal must centre human rights and deliver a genuinely sustainable end to fighting.amnesty Human Rights Watch had previously documented unlawful Iranian strikes across the Gulf from as early as March, underscoring the pattern of attacks that Amnesty's new evidence reinforces.hrw