Return to US-Iran hostilities is huge setback for civilians, UN rights chief says

The commission's chief says the fighting "undermines peace efforts and deepens instability”

Volker Turk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, speaks at the Human Rights Council at the UN European headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, Sept 8, 2025. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo

The UN human rights chief said on Tuesday the resumption of hostilities between the United States and Iran was a significant blow to civilians in the region that risked severe disruption to the flow of food, medicines, and other essentials.

The fighting "undermines peace efforts and deepens instability, with grave risks for human rights across the entire region," the UN high commissioner for human rights Volker Turk said in a statement.

"The return to wider hostilities in West Asia between the US and Iran is a huge setback for civilians in the region and beyond," he added, urging restraint.

In the latest overnight strikes, the United States attacked Iranian targets for five hours in a battle for control of the Strait of Hormuz, which Tehran said it had closed, in the third successive night of US strikes on Iran.

On Tuesday, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said a US air base in Jordan had been targeted with ballistic missiles. The strikes have increased doubts that a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed last month will lead to a permanent halt in the war.

Turk raised alarm about the potential human rights impact of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

"It is a vital lifeline on which millions are reliant. Disruptions to the flow of food, medicines, and other necessary commodities have severe socio-economic and humanitarian consequences, both regionally and globally," he stated.