War Crimes in Iran

TL;DR

Whether US strikes on Iran constitute war crimes depends on jus in bello conduct rules, not the war's legality — and evidence of intent.

Key Points

• 1.- Jus ad bellum (right to start war) and jus in bello (conduct during war) are legally separate; even an unlawful war doesn't make every military action a war crime.
• 2.- The US submarine Charlotte sank Iranian frigate Dena, killing 87 of 119 sailors; sinking enemy warships is lawful anywhere outside neutral waters, but failure to assist survivors may violate the Second Geneva Convention.
• 3.- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's 'no quarter, no mercy' statement is explicitly prohibited by Article 23 of the Hague Convention IV and could violate the War Crimes Act, punishable by up to life imprisonment.
• 4.- Oil depots and desalination plants are dual-use targets; proportionality still applies even when a facility qualifies as a military objective, and Article 54 of Additional Protocol I protects water supplies indispensable to civilians.
• 5.- A missile strike on a girls' primary school in Minab killed roughly 165–180 people, mostly schoolgirls; US Central Command allegedly used outdated DIA intelligence still labeling the school as part of a nearby IRGC naval complex.
• 6.- Under the War Crimes Act, a war crime requires willful intent to target civilians; if commanders genuinely believed the school was a military target, that defeats the intent element required by the ICC and US law.
• 7.- Even without a war crime conviction, officers could face UCMJ Article 134 negligent homicide charges if failure to verify intelligence amounted to simple negligence — though formal prosecutions for such strikes are historically rare since 9/11.