President Donald Trump took to social media Wednesday to issue Iran a new threat, one that involved the possibility of war crimes.
“From this point forward,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social, “any time the Islamic Republic of Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, whether it be by Missile, Rocket, Drone, or any other device or weapon, the United States will bomb and destroy ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT, including those located next to, or in, the Capital City of Tehran.”
Under international law, deliberately destroying civilian infrastructure like bridges and power plants is unlawful in most cases, with narrow exemptions only for targets that make a direct contribution to military action.
Throughout the duration of the deeply unpopular U.S. war against Iran, Trump has threatened to destroy Iran’s civilian infrastructure multiple times, including Iranian bridges, power plants and water treatment facilities. He also threatened to destroy Iran’s entire civilization, a genocidal threat he ultimately walked back from that ignited global panic.
The Strait of Hormuz – a critical shipping waterway through which 20% of the world’s oil trade historically flowed – has been declared “closed” by Iran since last week, sending oil prices surging.
When Trump made similar threats to power plants in March, Erika Guevara-Rosas of Amnesty International warned it would violate international law.
“Given that such power plants are essential for meeting the basic needs and livelihoods of tens of millions of civilians, attacking them would be disproportionate and thus unlawful under international humanitarian law, and could amount to a war crime,” Guevara-Rosas said.
“By threatening such strikes, the USA is effectively indicating its willingness to plunge an entire country into darkness, and to potentially deprive its people of their human rights to life, water, food, healthcare and adequate standard of living, and to subject them to severe pain and suffering.”
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