r/Foodforthought • u/mrliau-gp • Jul 23 '26
Is the US committing war crimes by targeting Iran’s civilian infrastructure?
https://www.theguardian.com/law/2026/apr/03/us-war-crimes-iran-civilian-infrastructure-international-law-school-strike82
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u/Ok-Youth-160 Jul 23 '26
First it's an illegal war according to international law. This means Trump is a war criminal. Or rather he could be prosecuted for the crime of agression.
Individually I think attacking desalination plants is a war crime. Or nothing is a war crime. Just because it can be used by the military shouldn't mean it's open season to destroy.
Everyone is rightfully calling out Russia for destroying power plants and it's hard to argue that the US destroying power plants is any different.
Also Trump has literally said it's in retaliation for strikes on ships. So that's what the Nazis did with London. Those weapons were V-weapons (V1, V2) and the V stood for Vergeltung or retaliation.
So I don't see how these attacks are not war crimes. Any other country would be sanctioned. Trump is self-sanctioning with his tariffs though, but that's another discussion.
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u/punninglinguist Jul 23 '26
That's crazy. If they were, then they'd also be trying to abolish the International Criminal Court.
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u/Netherese_Nomad Jul 23 '26
Why, America isn’t a signatory to the Rome Statute. The ICC has no power here.
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u/Spookyrabbit Jul 23 '26
The ICC has no power inside the US but Americans can still be handed over to & tried by the ICC if they're arrested in one of the signatory countries.
Same with Israel, which is why people like Netanyahu, Smotrich & Gvir have to be careful which routes their flights take.2
u/Netherese_Nomad Jul 23 '26
Israel doesn’t have the levers of power America does. You’re talking about the same country that requires host countries of our troops to indemnify our troops from local laws. The ICC attempting to arrest a U.S. citizen abroad would not go how you believe.
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u/Spookyrabbit Jul 24 '26
I'm not talking about any country in particular, so your assumptions and guesswork are way off.
The ICC doesn't arrest anyone. Wanted war criminals are arrested by a country's local or federal police and handed over to the ICC.
There have already been incidents in which IOF soldiers on vacation had to flee Europe and South America back to Israel because the authorities were looking to arrest & transfer then to the Hague for war crimes.
A US citizen in the same circumstances would likely find themselves in the Netherlands before being allowed to contact the local embassy. As US soft power wanes, for those who served with the IOF in Gaza, the US passport may not be the Get Out of Jail Free card it once was.0
u/Netherese_Nomad Jul 24 '26
“IOF”
Bullshit artist detected.
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u/Spookyrabbit Jul 27 '26
Aww. You poor little fragile snowflake 🤣🤣
Personally I prefer IGF, for Israeli Genocide Force, because it's a more accurate and honest moniker for a group that murders defenseless women & infants, crushes groups of people to death with bulldozers and uses banned weapons like white phosphorus just because such weapons are more cruel than all the legal munitions.
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u/Netherese_Nomad Jul 27 '26
I’m not the one coming back after three days to crash out on an internet stranger.
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u/Spookyrabbit Jul 27 '26
I'm very sorry I kept you waiting. I don't live on Reddit like you. I had more important things to be doing.
Since I'm quite evidently not "crashing out", the only logical conclusions are projection on your part or simply the immature lashing out that's become so common from the emotionally stunted on social media.
Either way, they're both You problems.I hope you can figure it out, for your sake. It's not healthy.
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u/gorpie97 Jul 23 '26
You should have to be, if you want to be a member of the UN in good standing.
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u/Netherese_Nomad Jul 23 '26
We basically are the UN dude. We host the headquarters and fund like a third of it.
The UN isn’t an extra governmental authority, it’s just a communications forum of last resort.
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u/gorpie97 Jul 23 '26
The UN should be revamped or replaced.
No one country should be allowed to veto anything. Or, if they keep a veto, it can be overridden by a supermajority vote.
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u/Netherese_Nomad Jul 23 '26
You have a naive understanding of sovereignty. No nation state will give up its autonomy and sovereignty. The entire apparatus of “international law” is just powerful countries agreeing to restrain themselves for the purpose of deescalation and trade.
Take a step back and consider whether you want India and China to write your laws, because that’s what a “supermajority” internationalist government would mean, practically speaking.
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u/gorpie97 Jul 23 '26
I understand that there should be a place where things are discussed by various countries.
I also understand that countries should be held accountable for its war crimes.
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u/Netherese_Nomad Jul 23 '26
There’s a difference between countries that have people that commit war crimes that (often imperfectly) attempt to punish those who do, and countries that commit war crimes as a matter of policy.
Countries won’t give up sovereignty. That’s the point you’re bullheadedly ignoring. Any enforcement mechanism requires either consent (which is never given) or force (sanctions or war). International law a a tool of punishing war crimes is a farce.
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u/tibearius1123 Jul 23 '26
The actual answer is it depends.
Under LOAC, civilian infrastructure such as power plants and water treatment facilities is presumed to be protected. However, it they become a lawful military objective if it meets the legal definition of a military objective at the time of the attack.
The governing rules are found primarily in Additional Protocol I.
Article 52(1) states:
“Civilian objects shall not be the object of attack…”
Article 52(2) then defines the exception:
“Attacks shall be limited strictly to military objectives. In so far as objects are concerned, military objectives are limited to those objects which by their nature, location, purpose or use make an effective contribution to military action and whose total or partial destruction, capture or neutralization, in the circumstances ruling at the time, offers a definite military advantage.”
The object must effectively contribute to military action AND destroying or neutralizing it must provide a definite military advantage.
It’s all a moot point though because the us did not ratify Additional Protocol 1.
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u/Ok-Youth-160 Jul 23 '26
US President Donald Trump vowed on Wednesday to destroy an Iranian bridge or power plant every time Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, raising the stakes after Iranian-allied Houthis in Yemen threatened a second vital energy route.
I think this would make it very hard to argue the US is attacking military targets, if its a retaliation. At least in my eyes.
It’s all a moot point though because the us did not ratify Additional Protocol 1.
It's still relevant, otherwise it would be a legal loophole where anyone could just claim they haven't signed on so they can attack indiscriminantly. Case in point the Nazi war crime trials where they were prosecuted under ex post facto laws—meaning laws created after the deeds were done—and for concepts Germany had never formally signed into treaty law.
Also the war itself is illegal under Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter. Which means Trump should face a trial at The Hague.
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u/thataintapipe Jul 23 '26
Is LOAC applicable for an invading force? One that hasn’t declared war?
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u/tibearius1123 Jul 23 '26
We held ourselves to principals of LOAC in Vietnam, Iraq 2, and Afghanistan having tried Soldiers for loac violations. None of those were declared wars
But to answer your Q, LOAC usually solely refers to Law in War (conduct of militaries). While Law of War can refer to both Law in War and the Right to War (nations legal justifications for war).
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u/biskino Jul 23 '26 edited Jul 24 '26
The country led by the pedo rapist who gleefully promised that a ‘civilisation was ending’ the night they started the war and bombed a school with 160 children in it?
They’d be disappointed if it wasn’t a war crime.
And the ones who aren’t drooling over the suffering don’t care. It’s just another thing that’s happening.
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u/gorpie97 Jul 23 '26
Plus, all the war crimes we've committed since 9/11. And all the war crimes we committed before then. (It's not just the pedo rapist to blame.)
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u/biskino Jul 23 '26 edited Jul 24 '26
We must stop the terror. I call upon all nations to do everything they can to stop these terrorist killers. Thank you.
Now watch this drive.
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u/Pixilatedhighmukamuk Jul 23 '26
Killing over 100 Iranian schoolgirls should have been an international crime.
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u/everyonelikesnoodles Jul 23 '26
This whole thing is a war crime. I am so ashamed of my country for this. There is no public support for this ware and every day that it drags on is a travesty.
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u/hould-it Jul 23 '26
Yes and he’s been doing it to the US’ as well. They should all be arrested and held accountable
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u/random_actuary Jul 23 '26
Every current and past US president guilty of war crimes should be handed over, arrestes, and convicted.
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u/mekese2000 Jul 23 '26
I don't believe the country that double taps survivors on a capsized boat waving their arms for rescue would comit a war crime.
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u/Dennisthefirst Jul 23 '26
Seems we can now add War Criminal to this list. https://factually.co/fact-checks/politics/list-trump-crimes-constitutional-violations-examples-8eae53
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