UN experts say Israeli attack on Iranian consulate violated international law, call for de-escalation

UN legal experts said in a report that Israeli military personnel and civilian officials responsible for the country's deadly strike on Iran's consulate in Syria may have "committed crimes under an international counter-terrorism treaty of 1971, the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against Internationally Protected Persons."

"All countries are prohibited from arbitrarily depriving individuals of their right to life in military operations abroad, including when countering terrorism," they said. "Killings in foreign territory are arbitrary when they are not authorised under international law."

"Israel’s attack consequently violated the prohibition on the use of armed force against another state under Article 2(4) of the Charter," they added. "Illegal force was used not only against Iran’s armed forces but also against Syrian territory. Israel’s attack was partly launched from the Golan Heights, which is illegally annexed Syrian territory."

The experts also said that Iran's retaliatory attack was "a prohibited use of force under international law."

They argue that since Israel's attack ended on 1 April, Iran did not have the right to self-defence as the latter is "only lawful where is it necessary to stop a continuing armed attack."

"For the same reason, Israel’s initial right of self-defence against the unlawful Iranian armed attack on 13 April no longer persists since the attack has been successfully repelled," they added.