WASHINGTON, April 3 (Xinhua) -- Over 100 U.S. international law experts said in a letter released on Thursday that the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran may violate international law and amount to "war crimes."
The open letter, signed by experts including former government legal advisors and scholars from Harvard, Yale and Stanford, called the U.S.-Israeli military campaign "a clear violation" of the United Nations (UN) Charter, noting that there was no evidence Iran posed an imminent threat that could ground a self-defense claim.
Statements made by senior U.S. officials "raise serious concerns about violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, including potential war crimes," it added, citing U.S. President Donald Trump's remarks that the United States may strike Iran "just for fun" and Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth's comment on ignoring "stupid rules of engagement."
Experts also pointed to Trump's threat to "take out" Iranian power plants and to "do things that would be so bad they could literally never rebuild as a nation again," warning that "International law protects from attack objects indispensable to the survival of civilians, and the attacks threatened by Trump, if implemented, could entail war crimes."
The experts said they are also "seriously concerned" about strikes on schools, health facilities and homes, noting that 67,414 civilian sites, including 498 schools and 236 health facilities, have been struck, and at least 1,443 Iranian civilians, including 217 children, were killed by U.S.-Israeli forces between Feb. 28 and March 23.
The Feb. 28 strike on Minab primary school that caused over 175 deaths, mostly children, "likely violates international humanitarian law, and if evidence is found that those responsible were reckless, it could also be a war crime," said the experts, adding that the strike is among the deadliest single attacks by the U.S. military on civilians in recent decades.
The letter also warned that changes in the U.S. Defense Department, including the removal of senior legal officials, could weaken oversight of military operations.
It urged U.S. officials and their allies to uphold international law, including the UN Charter and the Geneva Conventions, and called on all parties to avoid actions that could further harm civilians or escalate the conflict. ■
