After US President on Tuesday warned Iran of massive destruction if the country does not open up the , the United Nations issued a statement stressing upon established international rules when it comes to war.
“Even wars have rules,” the UN said in a post on X, adding, “The Geneva Conventions protect civilians in conflict and help ensure assistance reaches those in need, without discrimination.”
What was Trump’s threat?
Trump, who has given Iran time till 8 pm ET Tuesday (5:30 am IST Wednesday) to open up the Strait of Hormuz, said in a post on Truth Social, “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will. However, now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS?”
“We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World. 47 years of extortion, corruption, and death, will finally end. God Bless the Great People of Iran!” the US President added.
Trump’s warning clearly states that he is planning to indiscriminately target Iran and Iranian infrastructure, which is a clear violation of the Geneva Convention, which both the US and Iran are signatories of.
What does the Geneva Convention say on the protection of civilians?
The Geneva Convention says that there should be no obstacle to humanitarian assistance being provided to civilians during times of war by the “International Committee of the Red Cross or any other impartial humanitarian organization”.
Article 10 of the Convention states: “The provisions of the present Convention constitute no obstacle to the humanitarian activities which the International Committee of the Red Cross or any other impartial humanitarian organization may, subject to the consent of the Parties to the conflict concerned, undertake for the protection of civilian persons and for their relief.”
Democratic US Representative Ro Khanna has also slammed these comments made by Trump, saying in a post on X, “We need to invoke the 25th Amendment and remove Trump. Threatening war crimes is a blatant violation of our constitution and the Geneva Conventions.”
Will the US be using nuclear weapons in Iran?
Speculations were rife that Washington DC might use nuclear weapons in Iran after Vice President J D Vance said in Hungary that “They’ve got to know we’ve got tools in our toolkit that we so far haven’t decided to use.”
“The president of the United States can decide to use them, and he will decide to use them if the Iranians don’t change their course of conduct,” the US Vice President also said.
With his comment coming soon after Trump’s ‘civilization will die’ threat, many interpreted this to be the US planning to go nuclear in Iran.
However, the White House has refuted such speculations and said, “Literally nothing @VP said here ‘implies’ this, you absolute buffoons.”
