2 hours ago
1
EXCLUSIVE: Intelligence officers have analysed satellite footage to assess Iran's attacks on civilian infrastructure.
Intelligence experts believe footage shows the Iran attacks on hotels were intentional (Image: Instagram)
Iran has deliberately targeted civilian sites which could constitute a war crime, according to intelligence experts. McKenzie Intelligence Services, which uses satellite imagery to assess damage during disaster situations, told the Express that several of the Iranian strikes on civilian locations, including hotels, ports and airports, appear to have been intentional.
“We have seen enough footage that makes it look like there has been deliberate targeting of civilian infrastructure by these one-way attack drones,” explained MIS head of intelligence, David Heathcote. The ex-army officer, who served in the intelligence corps for nearly a decade, explained that key clues in the footage helped the team reach this conclusion.
Iranian strikes hit Dubai's international airport and hotels (Image: Getty)
“That's mainly due to the angles at which they are impacting and the nature of the kind of terminal phase. So, we're talking about the angle that the drone is flying at before it impacts. And that makes it look like they have been deliberately targeting those sites.”
His team, largely made up of veterans, had assessed risk zones in the Middle East months ago, in preparation for potential conflict after the exchange of munitions between Iran and Israel in June last year.
They had predicted attacks on American consulates or even energy infrastructure, because Iran could use that to destabilise the economy, but the "indiscriminate nature of the attacks" came as a "surprise".
“If you were to look at the areas that we previously identified through that preparatory report, we were more focused on military infrastructure. Our expectation was not, frankly, the form of targeting that we have subsequently seen.”
“I wasn't expecting Terminal 3 of Dubai to be struck, or [the airports in] a number of different nations as well."
Last week, Dubai's Fairmont The Palm hotel was struck by a large explosion, and debris from an intercepted drone resulted in a "minor fire" at the five-star Burj Al Arab hotel. Dubai International Airport was also damaged in what authorities called an "incident", grounding thousands of flights.
David Heathcote worked in intelligence services in the military for nearly 10 years (Image: McKenzie Intelligence Services)
Under the Statute of the International Criminal Court, "intentionally directing attacks against civilian objects, that is, objects which are not military objectives", constitutes a war crime in international armed conflict.
Mr Heathcote points out that there are allowances under the law of armed conflict for impacts on civilians, arising from proximity to military assets, but "that does not explain hotels being attacked, that does not explain civilian airports being attacked".
“I know people like to talk about legality a lot in regards to these kinds of conflicts, but deliberate targeting of purely civilian infrastructure, those are war crimes.”
He acknowledged it is hard to determine whether some damage is caused by drones or shrapnel from interception, but they believe that Iran is strategically using different munitions for military sites and civilian ones.
“From what we can tell so far, the ballistic missile strikes have been almost exclusively targeting those military sites," he said.
“But the civilian infrastructure that's been hit, and by that I would include not only hotels, but also port infrastructure, energy infrastructure, or high-rise buildings, they have exclusively been targeted by the one-way attack drones that Iran produces.”
Qatar's airspace was closed the day of the first strikes (Image: Getty)
They believed drones were employed for one reason: it is easier to defend the impacts on civilians.
“It is a lot easier to defend in some way or claim ignorance in regards to a drone flying off course, or hitting a high-rise building that the programmers who had been arming and releasing these drones had maybe not accounted for," he said.
"So essentially, you could explain away civilian impacts as being unintentional," he said.
Amnesty International has issued an urgent call for parties on all sides to protect civilians and fully adhere to international humanitarian law.
The latest news from around the world Invalid email
We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. Read our Privacy Policy
Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International, said: "Civilians should not pay the price for the unlawful and reckless acts by parties to the conflict, ravaging the principles of humanity and distinction at the heart of international humanitarian law and threatening the very foundations of international peace and security.
"Parties to the conflict must immediately refrain from unlawful attacks, whether direct attacks on civilians, indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks, or the use of explosive weapons with wide area effects in densely populated areas. They must take all feasible precautions to prevent civilian harm."
English (US) · 