The military aggression of US and Israel across Iran has triggered widespread instability across West Asia and a threat to the international human rights law.
  • Context: The United States and Israel’s joint military aggression against Iran is a violation of international human rights and international humanitarian law.
  • Human rights: Right to self-determination
  • Community impact: The military aggression of US and Israel across Iran has triggered widespread instability across West Asia and a threat to the international human rights law.
  • Rights-holder: People of Iran and West Asia
  • Duty-bearer: United States, Israel, Iran, United Nations

MANILA — The United States (US) and Israel carried out coordinated military strikes across multiple Iranian cities, including the capital, Tehran, on February 28, 2026.

The military aggression resulted in the killing of Iran’s supreme leader Ali Hosseini Khamenei and retaliatory actions in the region of West Asia.

US President Donald Trump openly framed the operation as aimed at eliminating what he described as threats from Iran and creating conditions for regime change.

The right to self-determination — enshrined not only in the UN Charter but also in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights — guarantees that peoples may freely determine their political status without external coercion.

According to the International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL), the attacks constitute a crime of aggression and a violation of Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter.

“All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations,” that provision reads.

IADL further emphasizes that the military aggression is not only a threat to the nations of West Asia — the west calls the region the Middle East — but also to the future of international law, multilateralism, and the territorial integrity of the states.

“Iran, a sovereign nation, has the clear and legitimate right to defend itself against this unlawful aggression,” IADL notes.

“Neither the US nor Israel has even attempted to hide the fact that this aggression is being carried out to facilitate a regime change that they would find amenable to their goals of total domination of the entire region of West Asia militarily, economically and politically.”

For decades, the United States and Israel have alleged that Iran is covertly pursuing the development of a nuclear weapon.

Iranian officials have consistently rejected these claims, maintaining that the country’s nuclear program is intended solely for civilian and peaceful purposes.

The US-Israel military aggression that prompted the unrest in West Asia significantly affects civilian communities.

The Red Crescent reported that at least 555 people in Iran have been killed. An Israeli airstrike on a girls’ elementary school has also reportedly killed 180 children.

Under International Humanitarian Law, children are afforded special respect and protection under Article 77 of Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions.

Deliberate or reckless attacks that fail to distinguish between civilians and combatants or civilian infrastructure and legitimate military targets could constitute grave breaches of IHL and potentially war crimes.

Iran has retaliated by firing ballistic missiles at Israel and targeting the US bases in West Asia, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. All these, invoking the Article 51 of the UN Charter of the right of their nation to self-defense.

Last June 2025, the US bombed Iran’s facilities in the middle of negotiations.

The latter responded by launching an attack on the al-Udeid air base in Qatar, for which they provided advance notice.

“This joint US-Zionist attack on Iran is a desperate move after months of hybrid warfare against Iran, their number one rival in the region, to attempt to remove one of the largest barriers to full imperialist and Zionist control over West Asia,” the International League of Peoples’ Struggles said in a statement.

The international human rights groups are calling on all UN member-states to immediately implement an arms embargo on Israel and the US and pursue legal actions to hold their officials accountable.

IADL emphasizes that the military offensives against Iran are ongoing while the US and Israel is committing an unlawful occupation and genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza. The attacks also followed the US-led attacks against Venezuela and the ongoing war threats and oil blockade imposed on Cuba.

While the US led the bombing of Iran under the pretext of nuclear weapons, it is important to note that the US is the world’s largest producer of nuclear power, according to its own Energy Information Administration.

“We cannot rely solely on states or international institutions to end this aggression,” IADL said.
“We urge all supporters of justice, sovereignty, peace, and international law to participate in mass demonstrations and actions against the aggression on Iran, and to mobilize popular pressure to bring the aggression to an end.” (RTS, JDS)

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