Experts: US strikes on Iran could be war crimes

Over 100 US-based international law experts have warned that American strikes on Iran may amount to war crimes, citing violations of the UN Charter, attacks on civilian infrastructure, and alarming rhetoric from senior officials. In an open letter published on Thursday by the Just Security policy journal, scholars from Harvard, Yale, Stanford, and other institutions stated that the unprovoked US-Israeli campaign against Iran which began in late February is "a clear violation of the United Nations Charter." They also stated that the conduct of US forces and statements by officials "raise serious concerns about violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, including potential war crimes." The experts specifically highlighted President Donald Trump's remarks last month that the US may conduct strikes on Iran "just for fun." They also cited War Secretary Pete Hegseth's March 2 statement that the US does not fight with "stupid rules of engagement," and his declaration of "no quarter, no mercy for our enemies" – a phrase that, under international law, can constitute a war crime. The letter expressed particular concern over the February 28 strike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls' school in Minab, which killed at least 175 people, mostly children. The Pentagon has reportedly determined that US forces carried out the strike based on outdated intelligence but has yet to apologize. The same day, a US missile struck a school and sports hall in the city of Lamerd, killing at least 21 people. The New York Times reported that the weapon used was the previously untested Precision Strike Missile, which disperses small tungsten pellets. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said over 600 schools and educational facilities have been targeted, calling the Minab massacre part of "a systematic and brutal pattern of illegal warfare." Iran has accused the US and Israel of committing genocide. Separately, John Mecklin, editor-in-chief of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, which sets the Doomsday Clock, described the war as "absolutely idiotic," warning that "accidents, miscalculations, crazy stuff" happen in wars and a nuclear accident "can't be ruled out" until the fighting stops. Both the legal experts and Mecklin called for a return to diplomacy while noting that Trump's withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal has made a negotiated settlement extremely difficult.