US strike on Iran: A grave violation of international law

ON JUNE 13, 2025, Israel initiated a preemptive strike against Iran, asserting self-defense against an alleged nuclear threat—a claim categorically denied by Iran. This strike has sparked an ongoing conflict, with Israel insisting on its necessity to safeguard its existence and Iran contending that its actions constitute legitimate defensive operations aimed exclusively at military objectives.

The conflict escalated alarmingly on June 22, when the United States directly intervened by launching B2 bombers and ‘Tomahawk’ missile attacks targeting Iranian nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan.

Right after the attack, US President Donald Trump proudly declared, ‘NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE!’ However, such proclamation is at odds with reality, international peace, and most critically, international law.

Central to the international legal framework is the principle of state sovereignty, deeply intertwined with territorial integrity and political independence. These principles form the cornerstone of the United Nations Charter. Specifically, Article 2(4) explicitly prohibits threats or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, a provision widely regarded as a fundamental tenet of international relations and global stability.

Additionally, Article 51 of the UN Charter recognizes a nation’s inherent right to self-defense but clearly limits this right to situations where an actual armed attack has occurred. In this context, the critical legal debate emerges around “anticipatory self-defense,” often justified through the Caroline doctrine—requiring necessity and imminence. However, these conditions must be demonstrably satisfied, supported by irrefutable evidence of an imminent threat.

In the current scenario, Israel’s claim that Iran’s nuclear capability represented an imminent threat remains unsubstantiated, especially given multiple affirmations by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that Iran does not possess nuclear weapons capabilities nor has it deviated significantly from established peaceful nuclear activities.

The IAEA has repeatedly asserted that attacks against nuclear facilities breach international norms and severely endanger civilian safety and global security.

By launching these attacks absent clear and immediate evidence of an armed attack or an imminent threat, Israel and the United States have breached fundamental international law principles and violated Iran’s sovereign rights.

Consequently, both Israel’s initial preemptive strike and the subsequent US intervention are profoundly problematic from an international law perspective. By launching these attacks absent clear and immediate evidence of an armed attack or an imminent threat, Israel and the United States have breached fundamental international law principles and violated Iran’s sovereign rights.

Furthermore, by participating in these actions, the United States risks liability under the ‘Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts (RSIWA)’ under the UN Charter.

Specifically, Article 16 stipulates that a state assisting another in committing an internationally wrongful act is equally responsible if it was aware of the illegality involved, and the act would be unlawful if carried out independently.

Given the widely recognized international illegality of unprovoked military strikes absent an imminent threat, the United States clearly falls within these provisions.

This troubling episode emphasizes the urgent need for global recommitment to international law and the critical enforcement of clearly defined legal standards governing the use of force. Allowing such flagrant violations to remain unaddressed threatens global peace, undermines international institutions, and incentivizes future breaches justified by equally tenuous assertions.

Ultimately, adherence to international law must remain non-negotiable if genuine peace—not merely declarations of it—is to prevail. It is incumbent upon the international community to unequivocally condemn these violations and reinforce respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity, and political independence as indispensable pillars of global order.