Seyyed Sadr al-Din Safavi
International Peace Studies Centre
Israel’s attack on Iran on the 13th of June 2025, which began with the extrajudicial killing of Iranian nuclear scientists, the assassination of several Iranian military leaders, civilian deaths, and the attack on Iran’s nuclear sites which are under the monitor of the IAEA, and military sites across Iran and has expanded to include civilian areas including hospitals, and news organisations leading to more than 400 deaths and 2000 injuries is a violation of international law and the UN charter. Israel justified its war on Iran as pre-emptive self-defence under Article 51 of the UN charter, citing an existential threat from the Iranian nuclear program. However, as Iran has no nuclear weapons, nor is building nuclear weapons and had not demonstrated an imminent intent to attack Israel, Israel’s war on Iran constitutes the crime of aggression and is a violation of Article 2(4) of the UN charter and has been condemned as such by UN experts, countries in the region and the majority of the global south.
There is consensus amongst international organisations such as the UN and the majority of UN member states, that Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza. The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for war crimes and Crimes against humanity on 21 November 2024. At the time of writing Israel has killed more than 55,706 Palestinians, 17,400 children and Injured 130,101 people. It has destroyed 50% to 61% of all buildings in Gaza including a large number of hospitals, universities and places of worship. It has used starvation, water, energy and medicine as a weapon of war. It has killed 185 journalists according to the Committee to Protect Journalists in its attempt to silence the voice of the Palestinian people, and has denied access to Gaza to international journalists. Israel’s war crimes have occurred under the political and military support of the US and some EU countries.
As it is US-manufactured and supplied weapons that Israel has used to indiscriminately kill Palestinian civilians, destroy hospitals, churches and mosques and kill journalists, It is also US manufacture weapons that Israel has used to attack Iran. On the 22nd of June 2025, the United States joined Israel’s illegal war against Iran by bombing three Iranian nuclear facilities.
International law is effective and meaningful on the condition that every country and every nation is held equally accountable. The global south and the countries of the Middle East and Muslim world have condemned Israel’s war on Iran. Yet the US and her Western allies are yet to condemn Israel’s war on Iran which is a violation of the UN charter, and the US has now joined Israel’s illegal war. Under international law, every country has the right to self-defence, this is not a right reserved solely for the state of Israel, it is the right of every nation. By supporting Israel and America’s crime of aggression against Iran, the precedent is being set that International law can be violated with impunity, and the rules of engagement can be broken without consequence. This has severe negative ramifications for the international order and is a threat to global security.
Under international law, Genocide, War crimes, Crimes against humanity and the Crime of aggression should be met with condemnation, the imposition of sanctions, and prosecution of the perpetrators at international courts of law, not blind political and military support.
Once before at the beginning of the century, the United States fabricated evidence of Weapons of Mass Destruction to attack Iraq. America’s failed war in Iraq had severe negative consequences for regional and global security. Today, although the American intelligence community has clearly stated that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon and that the religious ruling of Iran’s Supreme Leader banning nuclear weapons and WMDs stays in place, President Trump by joining Israel’s illegal war on Iran has broken international law, violated Iranian sovereignty, endangered the NPT and put the region and the world at dire security risk.
The only peace worth having is Just peace. The US military’s attack on Iranian nuclear facilities has destroyed the possibility of peace and diplomacy in the short term. Iran is a powerful country and will not negotiate while under military attack. Iran, based on its legal right under the UN charter will defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity against the US and Israel’s illegal war.
