Israel breaches international law yet again, targets Iranian cities; civilians, army officials reported killed

June 13, 2025 by News Desk

Loud explosions rocked Tehran and several Iranian provinces early Friday morning as Israel launched widespread airstrikes targeting sites across the country. Iranian officials have condemned the attack as a violation of international law and vowed a forceful response.

Brigadier General Abolfazl Shekarchi, spokesperson for Iran’s Armed Forces, said Israel, with U.S. backing, struck civilian areas, calling the attacks “indiscriminate” and “terroristic in nature.” He warned, “The enemy will face a severe response. We are on full military alert

Unconfirmed reports suggest that Major General Hossein Salami, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), was among several top Iranian commanders killed. General Gholam Ali Rashid, veteran nuclear scientists Fereydoon Abbasi and Mohammad-Mehdi Tehranchi were also reportedly martyred in the coordinated strikes.

Videos from Tehran and cities like Natanz and Khorramabad show widespread destruction, with homes reduced to rubble—raising serious concerns about the proportionality and legality of the attacks under international humanitarian law.

Legal analysts say the strikes constitute: A breach of the UN Charter, which prohibits the use of force against another state’s sovereignty unless in clear self-defense or with UN Security Council authorization.

Violations of international humanitarian law, including the Geneva Conventions, if it is confirmed that civilian areas were intentionally targeted or if the attacks failed to distinguish between military and civilian infrastructure, expert said.

Targeted killings of state officials and scientists, if not in the context of an armed conflict and without legal justification, could also violate international human rights norms and customary international law.

The Israeli military claimed it targeted nuclear and military sites, while Iranian officials accused it of carrying out assassinations and indiscriminate bombing. The Iranian news agency IRNA quoted a security source warning of a “decisive and immediate response.”

The strikes come amid faltering nuclear negotiations between Tehran and Washington. With reports that U.S. President Donald Trump approved the operation, the sixth round of talks scheduled for this Sunday may now be cancelled.