BRUSSELS, March 20. /TASS/. Attacks on the energy infrastructure of any party to the conflict in the Middle East could constitute war crimes, the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated.

He said there are "reasonable grounds" to believe that both Israel and Iran have committed war crimes after recent strikes on energy facilities.

"I think there are reasonable grounds to believe that they could constitute a war crime," the European publication Politico quotes the UN Secretary-General as saying. Guterres stated that the growing number of civilian casualties makes both sides in the conflict vulnerable to possible accusations of war crimes. "I don't see any difference. It doesn't matter who targets civilians. It is totally unacceptable." he said. Politico notes that US and Israeli officials have not yet commented on Guterres’ remarks.

The United States and Israel launched a military operation against Iran on February 28. Major Iranian cities, including Tehran, were struck. The White House justified the attack by citing alleged missile and nuclear threats from Iran. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced a retaliatory operation, targeting sites in Israel. US military bases in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE were also hit. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and some other key Iranian leaders were killed in the joint US-Israeli attack.