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by OutOfHere 8 days ago
If I am not mistaken, it is not a war crime as per the Geneva Convention. It could be a war crime under Additional Protocol I (1977) or the Rome Statute (1998) but the US hasn't ratified these. It clearly is a last choice reaction by the US, and it's better than the alternative of carpet bombing.

Tell me, why is it legal for Iran to bomb oil tankers of other countries?
3 comments
wak90 8 days ago
Do you not see the difference between controlling territorial waters and bombing civilian water infrastructure
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OutOfHere 8 days ago
Huh. It is not entirely in Iran's territorial water. It is partially in Oman's water. Iran is attempting to control what does not belong to it.

Moreover, under the law of the sea, the Strait of Hormuz is as an international strait. [1]

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_strait

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wak90 8 days ago
Lol the US didn't ratify that either
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lenkite 7 days ago
> Tell me, why is it legal for Iran to bomb oil tankers of other countries?

Why is it "legal" for the US to shoot oil tankers of other nations ? And murder sailors of neutral nations in PROPER international waters such as the Indian ocean ?

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nickvec 8 days ago
Deliberately attacking a purely civilian object violates the principle of distinction, which is bedrock customary law the US has never disputed.

> “better than carpet bombing”

The lawful alternative is attacking military targets, not worse civilian targets.

> “why is it legal for Iran to bomb oil tankers?”

Iran’s conduct being illegal doesn’t legalize this strike. Whataboutism is a scourge.

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OutOfHere 8 days ago
Customary law is not formal law. Trump flies above the bedrock.

The thing to realize is that US could have destroyed 10-100x more civilian infrastructure. Instead it only gave Iran a small taste of what it's capable of. In undertaking this action, just as with the nukes in WWII, the gambit is to end the war quickly, not to prolong it. I am not saying whether the gambit will work, but why is prolonging war not illegal?

Spatial whataboutism is perfectly fair in war. A tit-for-tat strategy forms a highly stabilizing bedrock.

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