Tag

#Iran

4 incidents

Grade 4 of 5: Critical Rights and Rule-of-Law Concern

Operation Midnight Hammer: US Strikes on Iran's Nuclear Sites Without Congressional or UN Authorisation (June 2025)

The US bombed three Iranian nuclear sites in June 2025 without asking Congress or the UN Security Council. A leading international law scholar, writing for the Lieber Institute at West Point, concluded the strikes do not qualify as self-defence. The operation was the first direct US use of force against Iran in this period and preceded the 2026 war.

Grade 4 of 5: Critical Rights and Rule-of-Law Concern

Assassination of Qasem Soleimani: Extrajudicial Killing Without Congressional Authorization

Trump ordered the killing of Iran's most senior military commander without consulting Congress and without a clear and credible imminent threat justification. The strike killed Soleimani and Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. Iran retaliated with ballistic missiles against U.S. forces in Iraq. The administration offered contradictory and later-disputed justifications for the 'imminence' of the claimed threat.

Grade 4 of 5: Critical Rights and Rule-of-Law Concern

Soleimani Assassination: Drone Strike Without Congressional Notification, Iran Ballistic Missile Response

Soleimani was one of the most senior military commanders of a foreign government. His killing — outside declared combat zones, in the territory of a third country (Iraq) — raised significant questions under international law and the U.S. War Powers Resolution. Congressional leaders, including Senate majority leader McConnell, were not briefed in advance. Iran's ballistic missile response struck Al Asad Air Base and injured 110 U.S. service members; Trump initially told the public no one was hurt. The administration's justification for the strike — an 'imminent threat' — was not substantiated with specific intelligence that was shared with Congress.

Grade 3 of 5: Serious Rights Violation

Withdrawal from the Iran Nuclear Deal (JCPOA) and Maximum Pressure Campaign

The IAEA confirmed Iran was fully complying with the JCPOA when Trump withdrew. His 'maximum pressure' campaign reimposed crippling economic sanctions, including on Iran's banking system, oil exports, and humanitarian goods. Iran resumed enrichment and crossed successive JCPOA limits. The campaign ended with the assassination of IRGC General Qasem Soleimani in January 2020 and Iran further accelerating its nuclear program — ultimately leaving Iran closer to a bomb than when the deal was in force.