The Fall of International Law and the Fall of the US Empire?

The US attack on Iran on Saturday night should never have happened. It violated international law, as well as US constitutional law and risked creating an even worse nightmare than the one the world faced the night before. It is important to note all the ways in which what was done was illegal, unjustified, and unprovoked, because it would be wrong no matter which of the two mainstream political parties, the Democrats or Republicans, occupied the White House. Remember. Biden and the Democrats brought the world more than 16 months of genocide in Gaza and handed that over to Trump and the Republicans to finish the job. 

And now, the US has allowed the Israelis, who began this war against Iran with an illegal, unjustified act of aggression against Iran, to draw the US in, once again becoming a willing and complicit partner in a war that brings the world ever closer to WWIII and the use of nuclear weapons. How ironic would it be (and how dangerous) for nuclear weapons to be used to prevent Iran from having nuclear weapons? No one can make this possible scenario make sense.

The US and Israel deceived Iran in all this, too. In the middle of intense and essential negotiations, with another session scheduled for Sunday, June 22nd, Israel attacked Iran, unprovoked. Yes, this was definitely an unprovoked act of aggression. And now the world is left to deal with the consequences.

This also makes it extremely clear that Trump, and the US, are more interested in supporting the illegal and aggressive actions of the Israelis, than in protecting the US and the world from WWIII. Many of those who voted for Trump in November 2024 feel betrayed by this action, because Trump campaigned on ending the US endless wars and, not only has he not ended the brutal genocide of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank of occupied Palestine, his actions now threaten to involve the US in yet another war without end, one that Netanyahu has wanted for years. However, up until June 21st, cooler heads prevailed and war, thankfully, had been averted. 

Unfortunately not this time. In order to get the US embroiled in yet another war, the following international laws and domestic constitutional provisions had to be violated:

1. Israel’s bombing of Iran began on June 13, 2025 with a surprise attack on military and nuclear sites in Iran. This was likely blatantly illegal according to Article II (4) of the UN charter, as it was unprovoked. It could not be argued that this was an act of self-defense on the part of the Israeli government. It also continued a pattern of bombing other sovereign countries, such as Lebanon and Syria, also in possible violation of Article 2(4) of the UN charter, which aims to protect the territorial sovereignty of UN member states. 

2. In addition, Israel targeted individuals, including nuclear scientists and army generals. This, too, was likely illegal. 

3. Iran’s retaliation was swift and precise and legal, fitting the definition of self-defense. Most targets hit were military, though some happened to be civilian. 

4. When the US attacked sites associated with the provision of nuclear power, a legal civilian use, that was widely and generally considered yet another unprovoked act of aggression, since there were meetings taking place to negotiate a settlement to this conflict and since the US had not been attacked or threatened with attack. As of this writing on 6/23/25, the Iranians have retaliated with attacks on the US military base in Qatar. Some locations in New Jersey are preparing themselves for a possible attack, as well. This is likely happening in other parts of the US as well.

5. As for the development of nuclear weapons by Iran, over and over again, Iran has been seen to be in compliance with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Iran joined the NPT in 1968 and ratified their participation in it in February 1970. That means that Iran’s nuclear facilities have been inspected regularly by the International Atomic Energy Agency to verify that they are, in fact, using nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. Throughout their entire history, except just days before the Israeli attack on Iran’s personnel associated with that work, they had always been found to be in compliance.

6. On the other hand, Israel has never joined the NPT, let alone admit to having nuclear weapons at all. There have been no inspectors, no evaluations, no monitoring of the nuclear power plant, nor their nuclear weapons. Whenever Israel and the US name Iran as the “bully of the region” it sounds laughable, as the fact is that Israel is clearly identified as the region’s bully. Bad enough that this war has begun and escalated, but worse that it is all based on a pile of lies. It is clear that if the US keeps on pushing on the nuclear issue, Iran may withdraw from the NPT and from that point on, their research will be less transparent.

THIS JUST IN! A cease-fire has just been announced between Israel and Iran. Supposedly, It will last 12 hours and then, according to the US, the war between Israel and Iran will be over. But everything in this article will still hold true. Who knows whether the ceasefire will hold? Can Israel be trusted to uphold its end of the agreement? How about the role of the US? For now, perhaps, there’s a pause in the violence, something that will always be welcome. But who knows what the next few weeks will bring?