Iran has accused the United States of committing a "cowardly war crime" by striking near a children's cancer hospital and compared its actions to Israel's targeting of healthcare facilities in Gaza. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said in a post on X on Thursday that the US carried out a "barbaric" attack and 211 patients "undergoing chemotherapy" were evacuated from Shahid Baghaei Specialised Hospital in the southwestern city of Ahvaz. A doctor at the treatment centre told reporters the blast was "intense" and "so close" that they thought the hospital had been hit. "This barbaric attack, reminiscent of Israel's atrocities against healthcare facilities, caused severe suffering and anxiety upon the hospitalised children, and forced the emergency evacuation," said Baghaei.