Tag

#Iran

4 incidents

Extrajudicial Killing
War Crime / Crime Against Humanity

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.

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extrajudicial-killingIrandrone-strikefirst-termwar-powers
Updated January 8, 2020 Foreign Policy & War
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.

Sources
4
SoleimaniIranmilitaryfirst-termwar-powers
Updated January 3, 2020 Foreign Policy & War
War Crime / Crime Against Humanity

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.

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5
IranJCPOAnuclear-dealsanctionsmaximum-pressure
Updated January 3, 2020 Foreign Policy & War
Critical Rights and Rule-of-Law Concern

JCPOA Withdrawal: Abandoning the Iran Nuclear Deal Over Allied Objections

The JCPOA had halted Iran's path to nuclear weapons by removing sanctions in exchange for verifiable limits on enrichment. The IAEA had certified Iranian compliance in each of its inspections. Trump characterized the deal as 'the worst deal ever made' and the withdrawal as correcting an Obama-era mistake. European allies, who had spent years negotiating the agreement, tried unsuccessfully to persuade Trump to stay in. Following the withdrawal, Iran accelerated its nuclear program, enriched uranium to higher levels than were permitted before the JCPOA, and the U.S. assassination of General Qasem Soleimani in January 2020 brought the two countries to the brink of direct military conflict.

Sources
4
IranJCPOAnuclearforeign-policyfirst-term