Over 100 legal experts say Trump committed 'war crimes'

When President Donald Trump launched war against Iran at the end of February, his conduct then and since may amount to ‘"war crimes," according to an open letter signed by over 100 international law experts. The experts assert that “the attack was a clear violation of the United Nations Charter” as there was no evidence that Iran posed an imminent threat.

The letter signatories include senior professors, leaders of prominent international law organizations, former government legal advisors and military law experts including former Judge Advocates General, who signed to “express profound concern about serious violations of international law and alarming rhetoric by the United States, Israel and Iran in the present armed conflict in the Middle East.”

This body of experts asserted that the war — “which is costing U.S. taxpayers between $1-2 billion each day” — raises four main concerns.

First, there is the violation of international use-of-force laws, as “there is no evidence that Iran posed an imminent threat” to justify Trump’s self-defense claims.

Second, there appear to have been serious violations of international humanitarian law, with 67,414 civilian sites struck, 498 of which are schools and 236 of which are health facilities, killing at least 1,443 Iranian civilians, including 217 children.

Third, the letter points out “concerns about rhetoric and threats from senior officials.” These include threats of “no quarter” from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has said that “the U.S. does not fight with 'stupid rules of engagement' and may conduct strikes on Iran 'just for fun.'” At the same time, Trump has been making threats to civilian infrastructure like power and water desalination plants, which if carried out, entail serious war crimes.

Finally, the signatories are worried about the reduction of institutional safeguards against further violations, asserting that Trump and his officials have “deliberately and systematically weakened the protections meant to ensure compliance with international humanitarian law.” They have achieved this by removing senior military lawyers without cause, replacing military advocates general, and abolishing “’civilian environment teams’ and other mechanisms specifically designed to limit harm to civilians during operations.”

The letter concludes by urging “U.S. government officials to uphold the UN Charter, international humanitarian law and human rights law at all times, and to publicly make clear U.S. commitment to and respect for norms of international law.”

But their pleas may fall on deaf ears as on Wednesday night, Trump delivered a national address in which he gave little sign of changing course, instead declaring that he would bomb Iran “back to the Stone Age.” His words have drawn widespread condemnation, even from conservatives, and do not suggest the president is concerned with international law.

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