Tag
A specific serious violation of the laws and customs of war, including willful killing, torture, destruction of property, and attacks on protected persons or objects.
5 incidents
Trump's explicit threats to destroy all civilian infrastructure in Iran — every bridge, every power plant — with the stated goal of ensuring Iran 'could literally never rebuild as a nation again' constitute textbook threats of indiscriminate attack, a war crime under the Rome Statute and customary IHL.
The US Defense Secretary's public declaration that no quarter would be given to Iran constitutes a textbook war crime under Rome Statute Article 8(2)(b)(xii), which criminalizes 'declaring that no quarter will be given.' This prohibition is among the oldest in the laws of war.
US and Israeli strikes have damaged UNESCO World Heritage Sites and over 100 cultural heritage sites across Iran, including Golestan Palace, Isfahan's Naqsh-e Jahan Square complex, the 8th-century Jameh Mosque, and prehistoric sites dating to 63,000 BC. The destruction of cultural heritage during armed conflict is prohibited under the 1954 Hague Convention and constitutes a war crime under the Rome Statute.
A Tomahawk cruise missile struck a girls' elementary school in Minab, Iran, killing up to 180 schoolchildren in one of the deadliest single incidents of civilian harm in the 2026 Iran war. Investigations by the New York Times, CBC, NPR, and BBC Verify confirmed US responsibility.
US airstrikes killed 68 detained African migrants sleeping in a Sa'ada detention center during Operation Rough Rider. Amnesty International's investigation found no evidence the facility was a military target and concluded the strike was indiscriminate and must be investigated as a war crime.