Iran strikes: Expert explains UN rules on force

The US and Israel have launched an attack on Iran, with retaliatory strikes have been launched by Iran.

 

Dr Saeed Bagheri, international law expert, explains what United Nations rules say about the use of military force. For interviews, contact the University of Reading Press Office on 0118 378 5757 or pressoffice@reading.ac.uk. 

Dr Saeed Bagheri, Lecturer in International Law at the University of Reading, said: "Under the United Nations (UN) Charter framework, using military force against another country is generally prohibited unless specific exceptions apply. The key question in assessing the US and Israeli strikes on Iran is whether those exceptions are met.

"Two articles of the UN Charter are relevant. Article 2(4) sets out the general ban on cross-border military action. Article 51 allows countries to defend themselves but only in response to an actual armed attack. Some interpretations of international law go slightly further, permitting military action against an imminent threat. Even then, the bar is high. There must be clear evidence of hostile intent, a genuine and immediate capability to carry out an attack, and no realistic alternative to using force.

"Without convincing evidence of all those factors, a claim of self-defence is legally very hard to justify. Broad concerns about a country's long-term intentions, or speculation about what it might do in the future, are not enough on their own. Nor does a history of hostility between countries automatically mean that a state of ongoing armed conflict exists in the legal sense.

"Ultimately, applying a strict standard to claims of self-defence is important for upholding the UN Charter's core purpose of limiting the circumstances in which countries can use military force against one another."