Trump’s Orwellian Call for Peace Comes Moments After Attacking Iran
- Opinion by Mona Ali Khalil
- • June 22, 2025
On June 21, the United States joined Israel’s unprovoked war against Iran by attacking at least three of its nuclear sites –Fordow, Natanz and Esfahan.
The Israeli and US attacks are presumptively unlawful and constitute war crimes.
Less than two weeks ago, on June 12, Israel began attacking Iran and has continued to do so daily. It has targeted Iran’s nuclear facilities as well as several civilian areas in its stated effort to take out several top military and other governments officials, including the commander and other members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps in addition to scientists. Israel has reportedly killed at least 200 civilians and injured at least 2,000 civilians in the process. Almost immediately, Iran retaliated with an ongoing barrage of missiles, hitting Israeli military and civilian sites, reportedly killing 24 people.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s statements confirm Israel’s intention to destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities — already a violation of Iran’s rights under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty of which Iran is a party and Israel is not. Netanyahu has repeatedly and spuriously claimed that Iran is months or even weeks away from developing nuclear weapons. Confirming Israel’s hope to “clear the path” for regime change, he also called on the Iranian people to stand up for their freedom “from the evil and oppressive regime.”
Israel’s claims that it is acting in self-defense against an existential threat of a potential Iranian nuclear weapon are contradicted by the facts: no one believes that Iran possesses a nuclear weapon; the International Atomic Energy Agency has confirmed that “there is no credible evidence of a systemic effort by Iran to develop nuclear weapons”; and the US intelligence community “continues to assess that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon. . . . .”
President Donald Trump immediately acknowledged the US attack against Iran’s nuclear facilities and congratulated the US military personnel who carried it out, praising them as “great American Warriors.” He also declared in capital letters: “NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE!”
It is not clear whether the American president said so seriously or sarcastically, given that more war is far more likely than any peace. Iran is sure to retaliate against the US military assets in the region. Moreover, Iran would have an inherent right of self-defense to do so — not only in response to the actual US armed attack but also to prevent any further strikes that Trump has threatened unless the Iranian regime “unconditionally surrenders.”
Trump did not claim the US was acting in self-defense, as former President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair did when they invaded Iraq in 2003 on the false pretext of Iraq’s possession of nuclear and chemical weapons. Trump made it clear in his White House statement on June 21 that he was not acting to protect the US but rather “working as a team” with Israel to remove “this horrible threat to Israel.”
At a minimum, the international community must now condemn the many war crimes that the Israeli and American attacks on Iran entail.
Aggression, according to the Nuremberg tribunal, is the “supreme international crime.”
Aggression, according to the UN General Assembly, includes “the use of armed force by a State against the sovereignty, territorial integrity or political independence of another State. . .”
The threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state is an explicit violation of Article 2(4) of the UN Charter.
As neither Israel nor the US had suffered an actual or imminent armed attack when they launched their unprovoked assaults against Iran, without Security Council authorization, Israel and the US have also violated Article 51 of the UN Charter.
Attacks on nuclear facilities, including nuclear electrical generating stations, as well as attacks in the vicinity of such nuclear electrical generating stations, are contrary to Additional Protocol I to the 1949 Geneva Conventions.
Finally, attacks targeting noncombatants, especially in civilian populated areas, are clear violations of international humanitarian law.
So, what can UN member states do about these grave breaches, given that the US will inevitably veto any resolution tabled in the Security Council as Russia did after its own invasion of Ukraine in 2022?
First and foremost, it is incumbent upon the IAEA Board of Governors at its emergency meeting on Monday, June 23, to condemn the attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, which remain under IAEA safeguards and are subject to its surveillance and monitoring.
Second, and more importantly, today’s meeting of the Security Council, on Sunday, June 22, will be the first opportunity for member states to respond to the US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities. The meeting is convened at the request of Iran with the support of Russia, but is not likely to act on a draft resolution proposed by China, Pakistan and Russia condemning the attacks until later this week.
Third, if and when the US vetoes the draft resolution in the Security Council, the General Assembly can proceed in one of two ways. Under the rules of procedure of the General Assembly, member states could propose an additional item of “an important and urgent character” to the agenda of its current 79th regular session to adopt a resolution condemning the attacks and calling upon the parties to cease and desist from further attacks.
Alternatively, any nine members of the Security Council or a simple majority of the members of the General Assembly could convene a 12th emergency session under the Uniting for Peace resolution.
Two other such emergency special sessions are ongoing. The 10th emergency special session relates to the situation in Palestine, including the continuing occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza, which has been deemed unlawful by the International Court of Justice; and the ongoing genocide in Gaza, which the court has deemed plausible. The 11th emergency special session relates to Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and its ongoing occupation of certain parts of the country, both of which the Court has also deemed unlawful.
The advantage of the Uniting for Peace approach is that the Assembly, in addition to condemning the attacks, could also authorize member states to take collective measures, such as diplomatic and economic sanctions against the US and Israel. While under Uniting for Peace, the Assembly could also authorize a military response to the breaches of peace by Israel and the US, it is neither advisable nor advisable for it to do so.
Whether the UN member states have the political will and moral fortitude to exercise these legal options remains to be seen, but if they do not, they will be effectively surrendering to Netanyahu’s and now Trump’s aggressions; rendering the rule of law yet another casualty of Israel’s and America’s assault on the post-WWII order; and possibly leading to greater threats to regional and international peace and security. That includes the possibility of a third world war.
None of us are safe when the law of the jungle prevails. Even if Netanyahu and Trump don’t care about the UN Charter or international law, the UN member states must demonstrate that the rest of us do.
This is an opinion essay.
We welcome your comments on this article. What are your thoughts on US attacks against Iran?
Mona Ali Khalil is an internationally recognized public international lawyer with 30 years of UN and other experience, including as a former senior legal officer in the UN and the IAEA, with expertise in peacekeeping, peace enforcement, disarmament and counterterrorism. She holds a B.A. and an M.A. in international relations from Harvard University and a master’s in foreign service and a J.D. from Georgetown University. She is the founder and director of MAK LAW INTERNATIONAL and an affiliate of the Harvard Law School Program on International Law and Armed Conflict. She has co-authored several publications, including the UN Security Council Conflict Management Handbook; Reinvigorating the United Nations; Protection of Civilians and Empowering the UN Security Council: Reforms to Address Modern Threats.