Diplomacy Bombed: How the Israel-US Bombardment on Iran Buried International Law in Pursuing Regional Hegemony |
Diplomacy Bombed: How the Israel-US Bombardment on Iran Buried International Law in Pursuing Regional Hegemony
Launched in the midst of optimistic nuclear negotiations, the attack on Iran signals not deterrence but the collapse of diplomacy and the international legal order. What began as a “preventive strike” has become a regional conflagration in a widening conflict.
A Strike in the Midst of Diplomacy: Undermining Negotiation and International Norms
In such a context, the timing of the attack raises fundamental geopolitical questions. If diplomatic momentum was building, why escalate militarily? From my perspective, the strike appears less as a defensive necessity (at least from the side of the U.S.) and more as a strategic move by Israel to prevent a US–Iran accord that could have altered regional power balances. Diplomacy was once again sidelined in favour of force, a recurring pattern in Israeli and US politics.
Under international law, the legitimacy of preventive military action is highly contested unless an imminent threat is demonstrable. The argument that Iran poses a direct and immediate threat to US territory remains far from credible. Rather, the justification appears anchored in Israel’s long-standing security doctrine of preemption: a doctrine historically invoked to justify strikes against perceived existential threats. Yet preemption without clear imminence blurs the line between defence and aggression, especially when undertaken without explicit authorisation from the United Nations Security Council.
The absence of congressional approval in Washington further complicates the domestic legal framework of the U.S. intervention. For many Americans, the question is not simply geopolitical but constitutional: does the executive branch have the authority to initiate another major war without legislative consent? Public protests across US cities suggest that support for escalation is far from unanimous.
Strategic Calculations: Israeli Regional Hegemony and Regime Change
Israel’s strategic rationale appears rooted in a broader regional vision.........