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Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi accuses US and Israel of violating international law in attacks
Araghchi wrote in an op-ed that the US attack on Iran breaks the UN Charter and warned that the world’s legal order is at risk if power is placed above law.
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Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi has accused the United States and Israel of violating international law through their military attacks on Iran. In an opinion piece for Kyodo, Araghchi argued that no country should be allowed to use force against another based on its own assessment of possible future threats.
Araghchi also shared the article on X, raising questions about the international legal order and the need to follow established rules during conflicts.
"If states were free to attack one another based on their own assessments of possible future threats, what would be left of the international legal order?" he wrote.
According to Araghchi, the attacks by the US and the Zionist regime on Iran are plainly against the law. He said they break the rule against using force and hurt Iran’s right to rule itself. He wrote that the attacks should be checked against the UN Charter, not against reasons given after the fighting began.
Why he says the attack is wrong
As per Araghchi, the UN Charter does not allow any country to threaten or use force against another country. He said the International Court of Justice also backed this rule in 1986.
He wrote that force is allowed only in a few cases. One is self-defense, but he said that applies when a country has already been attacked. According to him, the US did not get the Security Council’s approval. He also said that a fear of danger in the future is not enough reason to attack. In his view, accepting that would allow countries to start wars based on their own opinion.
Araghchi also pointed to a statement from March 6, 2026. The head of the American Branch of the International Law Association called the attack on Iran unlawful. He said guesses about what might happen later cannot justify the use of force.
He also raised concerns about attacks on schools, sports stadiums, civilian infrastructure and Iranian nuclear sites under IAEA safeguards. According to Araghchi, countries at war must separate military targets from ordinary people and try to avoid harming civilians.
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What he wants and why it matters
Araghchi wrote that under UN rules, an attack by one country’s army on another’s land counts as aggression. He said that without a valid legal reason, the US is responsible for a wrongful act.
As per the op-ed, such a country must stop the wrongful act, promise not to repeat it and pay for the damage. He wrote that political or security reasons do not remove this duty. He added that other countries should work together, by lawful means, to end serious breaches. They should also not accept them as lawful or help keep them going.
According to Araghchi, Iran still has the right to defend itself if attacked, within the limits of international law.
He said this is not only about Iran. “The prohibition on the use of force is not a concession that powerful states make to weaker ones. It is a binding obligation that applies equally to all states.”
He ended with a warning. “If power is permitted to prevail over law, Iran will not be the only casualty. The foundations of the international legal order, and the authority of the U.N. Charter itself, will also be at risk.”
