The US-Israeli attacks against Iran, and the threats against its energy infrastructure, as well as Tehran's retaliation on its Gulf neighbours underline how the norms of starting and escalating international wars have been upended.
US President Donald Trump has at least twice threatened to use overwhelming force against Iranian energy facilities. Last week, he said he would massively blow up Iran's South Pars gas field if Iran further retaliated against Qatari energy sites. And on Saturday, he said the US would obliterate Iran's various power plants, starting with the biggest one first if its leaders did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
It comes amid mounting concern that the nature of this war is putting further, unprecedented strain on the global rules-based order.
Luis Moreno Ocampo, founding chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), said the global rules-based order was designed to protect civilians and prevent nations from resorting to war other than in self-defence or when approved by the UN Security Council.
He told the BBC that the war on Iran amounts to a crime of aggression under international law. Moreno Ocampo also indicated that Trump's threats to bomb Iranian power plants, as well as attacks by both Iran and Israel on energy infrastructure, do not amount to legitimate targets and likened them to Russia's attacks on energy sites in Ukraine, which led to Russian officials being indicted by the ICC for alleged war crimes.
In his statements, he emphasized, The cases of Russia in Ukraine or the US in Iran or in Venezuela is… called a crime of aggression. That means the use of armed forces by a state against the sovereignty, the territorial integrity or the political independence of another state, that's it. He warned, Now we go [from the rules-based system] to the rule of the man, whatever today President Trump decides will be the rule. That's not a viable world.
In response, the White House called Moreno Ocampo's statement ridiculous. It stated that Trump was taking bold action to eliminate the threat posed by a rogue, terrorist regime. They further argued that Iran's killing of civilians in the region underscored the importance of the president taking this action.
Amid these tensions, US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz defended attacking Iranian power plants as justified due to Iran's alleged uses of energy infrastructure for aggressive actions. However, Moreno Ocampo remarked that Iran's counterattacks on its Gulf neighbours could also be constituted as a crime of aggression.
Despite neither the US, Israel nor Iran being members of the ICC, Trump has sanctioned the court’s judges in retaliation for its previous investigations into US actions.
Critics argue that the West's condemnation of Iranian aggressions is effectively undermined by openly disregarding international laws in US actions. Brian Katulis, a former national security official, highlighted that Trump's threats represent a moment of extreme risk for the international order and described a shift towards thugboat diplomacy. Nevertheless, the White House remains steadfast, claiming that Trump's approach has restored the US's global standing in efforts to contain Iran's nuclear ambitions.
