The tail-spin of violence between Israel and Iran is a bitter lesson on what happens when we let the law of the jungle smother the rule of law.
Israel’s latest missile attacks on Iran followed the latter’s largely ineffective barrage of 300 missiles and drones against Israel over a week ago, which severely injured a seven-year-old child and damaged a military base. Iran’s strike was a response to Israel’s killing of two Iranian generals and eight others at an Iranian consulate in Syria earlier this month, seemingly to deter Iran’s support for Hezbollah.
Both countries have snubbed calls from world leaders to de-escalate. Both claim to be the victim of the other. These retaliatory strikes are a frightening escalation of conflict in a region already on a knife-edge over Gaza and must cease immediately.
Much Western political and media commentary has been partisan, reflexively taking Israel’s side over Iran’s. In contrast, international law does not take political sides, but applies the rules equally to all countries. When respected and enforced, international law is designed precisely to prevent retaliatory spirals of violence like the one the world is now trapped in.
All of these strikes are illegal under international law. A country can only use military force where it is necessary in self-defence to repel a continuing armed attack. Where there is no right of self- defence, military attacks violate the strict ban on the use of military force under international law and the........