Expert Q&A: Are U.S. Threats or Use of Force Against Iran Lawful?

(Michael Schmitt, Tess Bridgeman, Ryan Goodman – Just Security) For the past two months, President Donald Trump and other administration officials have been threatening to attack Iran. Initially, the threats appeared to be tied to the Iranian government’s violent crackdown on anti-government protests ignited by economic hardship. In early January, for instance, Trump warned that if Iran “violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue.” He added, “We are locked and loaded and ready to go.” Two weeks later, with U.S. forces moving into the region, Trump posted, “Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING – TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!!… HELP IS ON ITS WAY.” That help never came, with human rights activists reporting more than 7,000 deaths since the protests began. The administration’s threats have continued unabated, but their purported rationale has shifted to shutting down the Iranian nuclear program, presumably based on a belief that Iran is rebuilding nuclear facilities that Israel and the United States attacked in June of last year. By late January, Trump was demanding that Iran “come to the table” to negotiate a “fair and equitable deal—NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS.” He warned that if Iran did not, the next attack “will be far worse” than the previous one. – Expert Q&A: Are U.S. Threats or Use of Force Against Iran Lawful?