Iran Had Legal Right to Counter-Attack Israel in Self-Defense
By Ben Norton – Apr 14, 2024
Israel first attacked Iranās embassy in Syria on April 1, in an act of war. Tehran had a legal right to respond in self-defense, according to article 51 of the UN Charter, which it did with missiles and drone strikes on April 13.
Iran launched a historic attack on April 13, hitting Israel with hundreds of drones and missiles.
Tehran invokedĀ article 51 of the charter of the United Nations, which allowed it to act in self-defense in response toĀ Israelās bombing of Iranās embassy in SyriaĀ on April 1.
The US, Canada, and European governments loudly condemned Iranās April 13 attack, portraying Tehran as the aggressor. However, Western officials failed to mention that Iran was acting in self-defense.
Before the Iranian counter-attack, the leading British think tank Chatham House published an article admitting that the āIsraeli attack on Iranās consulate in DamascusĀ on 1 April marks an unprecedented escalation by Israel against Iran in Syriaā.
Tel Aviv killed top Iranian military officers, including Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi.
Chatham House stated that the April 1 attack was āthe clearest signal yet of Israelās determination to shift the conflictās rules of engagementā, by ādirectly eliminating Iranian leadershipā.
Israelās bombing of Iranās diplomatic facilities in Syria violated the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which states that embassies and consulates constitute the sovereign territory of the countries to which they belong.
The US, UK, and France shielded Israel from legal consequences for its act of war against Iran byĀ blocking a resolution in the UN Security CouncilĀ on April 4 that would have condemned the attack on Tehranās embassy.
By preventing the UN Security Council from taking action, Western governments made an Iranian counter-attack inevitable.
Before April 13, Western officials knew thatĀ Iran was preparing a response.
Legitimate Defense: Deconstructing the Legality of Iranās Retaliation Against Israel
US President Joe Biden threatened IranĀ on April 12, ordering Tehran not to attack Israel.
During the April 13 Iranian strikes, theĀ US and UK militaries were directly involvedĀ in backing Israel, helping to shoot down Iranian drones.Ā Jordanās militaryĀ likewise joined in support of Israel.
While launching its counter-attack,Ā Iranās permanent mission to the United NationsĀ invoked article 51 of the UN Charter āfollowing a 13-day period marked by the Security Councilās inaction and silence, coupled with its failure to condemn the Israeli regimeās aggressionsā.
Tehran denounced āCertain countriesā precipitous condemnation of Iranās exercise of its legitimate right suggests a reversal of roles, equating the victim with the criminalā.
Iranās invocation of Article 51 of the UN Charter occurred following a 13-day period marked by the Security Councilās inaction and silence, coupled with its failure to condemn the Israeli regimeās aggressions. Certain countriesā precipitous condemnation of Iranās exercise of itsā¦ pic.twitter.com/knuJrzS4ji
— Permanent Mission of I.R.Iran to UN, NY (@Iran_UN) April 14, 2024
In their statements āstrongly condemningā Iranās April 13 counter-attack, US PresidentĀ Joe Biden, British Prime MinisterĀ Rishi Sunak, Canadian Prime MinisterĀ Justin Trudeau, and UN Secretary-GeneralĀ AntĆ³nio GuterresĀ all failed to mention that Tehran was acting in self-defense, and had a legal right to respond to Israelās act of war.
Also left unmentioned was the fact that Israel has repeatedlyĀ bombed Lebanon, deep inside its sovereign territory; that aĀ top UN expert has formally accused Israel of genocideĀ in Gaza; and thatĀ Israel has flagrantly violatedĀ aĀ ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at the Hague that ordered Tel Aviv to stop killing Palestinians and to honor the Genocide Convention.
Ben Norton
Benjamin Norton is the founder and editor of the independent news website Multipolarista, where he does original reporting in both English and Spanish. Benjamin has reported from numerous countries, including Venezuela, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Ecuador, Honduras, Colombia, and more. His journalistic work has been published in dozens of media outlets, and he has done interviews on Sky News, Al Jazeera, Democracy Now, El Financiero Bloomberg, Al Mayadeen teleSUR, RT, TRT World, CGTN, Press TV, HispanTV, Sin Censura, and various TV channels in Mexico, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Bolivia. Benjamin writes a regular column for Al Mayadeen (in English and Spanish). He was formerly a reporter with the investigative journalism website The Grayzone, and previously produced the political podcast and video show Moderate Rebels. His personal website is BenNorton.com, and he tweets at @BenjaminNorton.
