Petition to the United Nations Security Council

Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, is the Commander-in-Chief of Iran’s armed forces and the ultimate authority over the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), police, intelligence services, and all security forces. Under international law, this places him at the top of the chain of command and makes him legally responsible for crimes committed by these forces.

For decades, Iranian authorities have engaged in systematic repression, including arbitrary arrests, torture, enforced disappearances, and the killing of civilians. These abuses have been documented repeatedly by international human rights organizations and constitute crimes against humanity.

In the current wave of nationwide protests, the situation has escalated into an acute humanitarian and human rights crisis. Authorities have imposed a near-total internet and telecommunications shutdown, preventing the public, journalists, and international observers from accessing or sharing information. This blackout has concealed the scale of violence and blocked coordination of emergency and medical assistance.

At the same time, security forces have been firing directly at unarmed civilians. Hospitals are overwhelmed with wounded protesters, medical staff report severe shortages of essential supplies including blood, and many injured people are unable to receive timely treatment. Independent sources and human rights networks report thousands of deaths within days, indicating an extraordinary level of lethal force against the civilian population.

These acts — the intentional targeting of civilians, the use of live ammunition against protesters, the obstruction of communications, and the denial of medical care — meet the legal definition of crimes against humanity under international law.

There is also an imminent risk of further mass atrocities. The Islamic Republic has a well-documented pattern: when street protests begin to subside, authorities initiate mass arrests, forced confessions, summary trials, and pre-determined death sentences, often carried out in secrecy. This has occurred after multiple previous uprisings. The current communications blackout strongly suggests that this machinery of repression is being activated once again.

Under the doctrine of command responsibility, Ali Khamenei bears direct legal responsibility for these crimes. The same legal principles have been used by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in cases involving other world leaders, including Vladimir Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu. International justice cannot be applied selectively.

Although Iran is not a party to the Rome Statute, the United Nations Security Council has the authority, under Article 13(b) of the Rome Statute, to refer the situation in Iran to the ICC, thereby granting the Court jurisdiction over these crimes.

We therefore call on the United Nations Security Council to:

1. Refer the situation in Iran to the International Criminal Court under Article 13(b) of the Rome Statute;
2.  Request the ICC Prosecutor to open an immediate investigation into crimes against humanity committed by Iranian authorities; and
3.  Seek an arrest warrant for Ali Khamenei based on his role as the highest authority in Iran’s chain of command.

Justice must not be selective.
If international law applies to some leaders, it must apply to all.

This petition is supported by members of the Iranian diaspora and human rights activists worldwide.

It addresses documented cases of violent repression of civilians in Iran, including mass arrests and deaths during protests.

We are calling on the UN Security Council to act under international law and refer Iran’s leadership to the ICC.

*Image shows bodies of victims following the recent violent crackdown in Iran.

این پتیشن از شورای امنیت سازمان ملل می‌خواهد که جنایات جمهوری اسلامی ایران را به دیوان کیفری بین‌المللی (ICC) ارجاع دهد.

علی خامنه‌ای به‌عنوان فرمانده کل نیروهای مسلح، مسئول زنجیره‌ی فرماندهی نیروهایی است که طی سال‌ها و به‌ویژه در سرکوب‌های اخیر، با شلیک مستقیم به مردم، قطع کامل اینترنت و ارتباطات، و محروم‌سازی مجروحان از درمان، مرتکب جنایت علیه بشریت شده‌اند.

این درخواست بر اساس همان معیارهای حقوقی مطرح می‌شود که برای پیگرد رهبران دیگر کشورها در ICC استفاده شده است. عدالت نباید انتخابی باشد.

اگر دولت‌ها اقدام نمی‌کنند، این وظیفه‌ی ما به‌عنوان انسان‌هایی است که به کرامت انسانی و حقوق بشر باور داریم.