Iran's Pasteur Research Center Targeted in Attack, Foreign Ministry Says

Ismail Baghaei, spokesperson for Iran's Foreign Ministry, stated that the Pasteur Research Center of Iran has been targeted in an attack.

Baghaei described the center, established in 1920 through an agreement between the Pasteur Institute in Paris and the Iranian government and known as the oldest and most prestigious research institute in the Middle East, as the victim of a "heartbreaking, unjust, abhorrent, utterly shocking" assault. He called it a direct attack on human values that goes beyond a mere war crime.

Hossein Kermanpour, head of public relations for Iran's Ministry of Health, labeled the incident a direct attack on international health security. He urged the World Health Organization and the International Committee of the Red Cross to provide support for rebuilding efforts.

Kermanpour described the institute as a "century-old pillar in global health" and a member of the international Pasteur network.

The U.S. Central Command has not issued any reaction to the incident.