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More than 100 U.S.-based international law experts, professors, and practitioners said the United States and Israel violated the U.N. Charter by launching strikes on Iran on Feb. 28.
They also warned that the conduct of the war, along with statements by U.S. officials, raises serious concerns about violations of international humanitarian law, including potential war crimes.
In a joint statement, the signatories said the attacks were launched without authorization from the U.N. Security Council and without evidence that Iran posed an imminent threat that could justify self-defense.
The experts said they were writing to express “profound concern about serious violations of international law and alarming rhetoric” by the United States, Israel and Iran in the armed conflict in the Middle East, while focusing primarily on the conduct of the U.S. government.
The letter said the war, which it described as costing U.S. taxpayers between $1 billion and $2 billion a day, had caused major harm to civilians, resulted in the deaths of hundreds of civilians across the Middle East, and caused serious environmental and economic damage.
The signatories said the strikes launched by the United States and Israel on Feb. 28, 2026, “clearly violated” the U.N. Charter prohibition on the use of force.
They said force against another state is permitted only in self-defense against an actual or imminent armed attack or when authorized by the U.N. Security Council.
According to the letter, the Security Council did not authorize the attack, Iran did not attack Israel or the United States, and there was no evidence that Iran posed an imminent threat that could justify self-defense.
The statement said many international law experts had reached the same conclusion, including the president and president-elect of the American Society of International Law and the president of the American Branch of the International Law Association.
It also said U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the attacks as undermining international peace and security.
The experts said they were concerned that the laws of armed conflict may have been violated in the conduct of hostilities.
They pointed to reported strikes on civilians and civilian objects, including political leaders with no military role, oil and gas infrastructure such as South Pars, and water desalination plants.
They also said they were seriously concerned about strikes that hit schools, health facilities and homes.
The letter cited the Iranian Red Crescent as saying that 67,414 civilian sites had been struck, including 498 schools and 236 health facilities.
It also cited a report by civil society organizations saying that at least 1,443 Iranian civilians, including 217 children, were killed by U.S. and Israeli forces between Feb. 28 and March 23.
The statement singled out the strike on Shajareh Tayyebeh Primary School in Minab, Iran, on Feb. 28.
It said the strike killed at least 175 people, many of them children, according to Iranian officials.
The signatories said easily accessible online information and commercially available satellite imagery indicated the building had been used as a school for a decade.
They also said President Donald Trump denied U.S. responsibility and falsely stated, “It was done by Iran.”
According to the letter, a preliminary investigation by the Department of Defense reportedly determined that the United States carried out the strike and that the targeting was based on outdated intelligence.
The experts said the strike likely violated international humanitarian law and could also amount to a war crime if evidence showed those responsible acted recklessly.
They described it as one of the deadliest single attacks by the U.S. military on civilians in recent decades.
The letter also raised alarm over statements by senior U.S. officials that it said suggested disregard for international law.
It cited Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s March 13 statement, “We will keep pushing, keep advancing, no quarter, no mercy for our enemies.”
The experts said declaring that no quarter will be given is “especially forbidden” under international law and is also prohibited under the Department of Defense’s own law of war manual.
They said ordering or threatening no quarter is a war crime and added that Hegseth’s statement likely violated international humanitarian law and the U.S. War Crimes statute.
The letter also pointed to Hegseth’s statements on Sept. 25, 2025, and March 2, 2026, that the U.S. does not fight with “stupid rules of engagement.”
It cited Trump as saying on Jan. 8, 2026, “I don’t need international law,” and on March 13 that the U.S. might strike Iran “just for fun.”
The experts said they were deeply concerned by Trump’s threats against Iran’s energy and civilian infrastructure.
The statement cited Trump as saying on March 13, 2026: “I could take out things within the next hour, power plants that create the electricity, that create the water… We could do things that would be so bad they could literally never rebuild as a nation again.”
It also said Trump later threatened to “obliterate” power plants in Iran on March 21, while U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz defended power plant attacks and said striking nuclear power plants was not off the table.
The signatories said international law protects objects indispensable to the survival of civilians and warned that attacks on such infrastructure could amount to war crimes.
They added that attacks on nuclear power plants would require particular care because of the risk of radiation release and severe harm to civilians.
The letter cited International Committee of the Red Cross President Mirjana Spoljaric Egger as saying on March 23, 2026, that “war on essential infrastructure is war on civilians” and described threats to nuclear power plants as “most alarming.”
The signatories also said institutional safeguards inside the Defense Department had been weakened under Hegseth.
According to the statement, the Pentagon removed senior military lawyers without publicly citing misconduct and replaced the Army, Navy and Air Force judge advocates general, undermining legal oversight of combat operations.
The letter also said the department abolished “civilian environment teams” and other mechanisms designed to reduce harm to civilians during operations.
It added that the 2026 National Defense Strategy omitted references to civilian protection and international law.
The experts said these changes were especially concerning in light of Hegseth’s view that rules of engagement interfere with “fighting to win.”
The signatories said they were gravely concerned that the conduct and threats outlined in the statement were harming civilians in the Middle East, escalating the conflict, damaging the environment and global economy, and weakening the rule of law.
They urged U.S. officials to uphold the U.N. Charter, international humanitarian law and human rights law at all times, and to make clear the United States’ commitment to international legal norms.
They also reminded all states of their legal obligations not to aid or assist the United States, Israel, or Iran in internationally wrongful acts and called on U.S. allies and partners to take steps to ensure respect for international humanitarian law.
The statement said the letter was signed by over 100 international law experts across the United States, including senior professors, leaders of international law associations, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and legal clinics, former government legal advisers, military law experts and former judge advocates general.
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