The National Lawyers Guild International Committee joins the International Association of Democratic Lawyers in condemning in the strongest terms the repeated illegal aggression perpetrated by Israel against the Islamic Republic of Iran. We emphasize the legitimate right of Iran, a sovereign nation, to defend itself from this unprovoked aggression as well as its right to development, including the development of nuclear energy facilities. We urge all states to act to hold Israel accountable for this unlawful aggression, as well as its ongoing genocide in occupied Palestine, particularly in Gaza, and its continued aggression against Lebanon, Yemen and Syria, through, as first steps, the implementation of an immediate arms embargo and the withdrawal of ambassadors from Israel. Holding Israel and its military and political officials accountable is necessary in order to restore and maintain peace and security for all peoples of the region.
We further condemn the United States’ recent military strikes on Iran and their nuclear facilities. The strikes were illegal acts of aggression which cannot be justified by Article 51 right of self-defense as Iran never attacked the United States. Acts of aggression are one of the core crimes of the International Criminal Court’s Rome Statute, Article 5. These attacks not only represent grave violations of international law and a blatant disregard for global institutions, they are an escalation of and has the potential of expanding war in the region of West Asia.
The United States, which remains openly complicit in the ongoing genocide being perpetrated by Israel against the Palestinian people, has no moral authority to speak on peace or non-proliferation. Its actions reveal the real objective — not global security, but the pursuit of regional hegemony and control over West Asia’s energy resources.
The refusal to engage in diplomacy, along with the deliberate sidelining of peaceful negotiations, underscores the orchestrated nature of this aggression. We reiterate the sovereign right of all nations, including Iran, to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes under international safeguards. We express serious concern over the dangerous consequences of such unilateral military actions, which threaten broader regional conflict and a wider world war.
We understand that the UN Security Council will address this matter but know the US will veto any resolution condemning this aggression in seeking world approval for its aggression. It is necessary for the international community to not allow the US to engage in this unilateral military strike. It is time to break the US complicity in genocide in Palestine as well as its aggression – together with its strategic imperialist partner, Israel – in attacking Iran. We demand the US legal community and broader international community uphold the principles of peace and respect for national sovereignty.
