Threatening War Crimes: Has Trump Finally Crossed the Line?
By Charles Ray - March 30, 2026
Donald Trump’s threats to “destroy” Iran’s energy structure, if carried out, is a potential war crime, implicating not only the president but all who carry out his mission.
In a March 30, 2026, social media post, Donald Trump threatened that if a peace deal is not reached soon and if the Strait of Hormuz is not immediately reopened, the U.S. would broaden its attacks, “completely obliterating power plants, oil wells, Kharg Island, and other civilian infrastructure.” He had made the same threat earlier on March 24, if Iran failed to open the strait, but delayed execution to allow peace talks to go ahead.
While Trump is known to use bluster, misdirection, and over-the-top threats as a negotiating tactic, human rights officials believe that this threat is a potential violation of international humanitarian law. The Geneva Convention prohibits attacks on energy infrastructure if they cause disproportionate harm to civilians. Amnesty International’s Senior Director of Research, Advocacy, Policy, and Campaigns, Erika Guevara-Rosas, said, “Intentionally attacking civilian infrastructure such as power plants is generally prohibited . . . and could amount to a war crime.” Amnesty International has also condemned Iran for threats and attacks on nonmilitary targets.
In 2024, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Russian military officers and officials, charging them with war crimes for attacking Ukrainian electric infrastructure. Kenneth Roth, formerly the executive director of Human Rights Watch, said, “Trump is openly threatening a war crime, and people aren’t saying anything because they’re numb to it.”
As with many of the president’s statements since the war began, it’s impossible to say whether or not this threat is real or just another of his ‘real estate negotiation’ strategy. What we can say, though, is that he has again placed the United States in a position that is more familiar for countries like Iran, Russia, or North Korea. Even if he reverses course, as he has done numerous times in the past, the genie is out of the bottle, and we might not be able to put it back this time, particularly if he goes through with his threat to commit ground forces and his non-war becomes even bloodier for the US side.
Should this action actually take place, and it is determined to be a war crime, it’s not just the leadership, but everyone who participates in it who can be found criminally liable by the ICC. Congress could put a stop to this madness if it chose to reclaim its constitutional authority, but it’s currently on recess (in hiding?) until April 6, which could be too late. Senior military leadership could theoretically refuse to carry out such an order, but the Caribbean ‘drug boat’ attacks demonstrate that this is not likely to happen. Depending on when such an order is given, it would appear to me that the guardrails against a president running amok are down.
Like many an authoritarian, Trump is unilaterally putting those below him, in this case the military, who would be ordered to carry out this mission, at risk of prosecution. But, to him, a lot of this war is ‘just for fun.’