US-based academics have signed an open letter expressing concern about the actions and rhetoric of the US and Israel during their war against Iran.
Published April 3, 2026
More than 100 US-based international law experts have signed an open letter condemning the US and Israeli military attack on Iran as a violation of the United Nations Charter and a potential “war crime.”
The letter released Thursday also said the actions of the U.S. military and the statements of senior U.S. officials “raise serious concerns about violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law.”
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Academics warned that the US-Israeli operation, which began on February 28, was launched without permission from the UN Security Council and without any credible evidence of an imminent Iranian threat.
“The use of force against another country is authorized only in self-defense against an actual or threatened armed attack, or when authorized by the United Nations Security Council. The Security Council did not authorize the attack. Iran has not attacked Israel or the United States,” the letter said.
Expert concerns fall into four areas. The legality of the decision to go to war. act of hostilities. Threatening statements made by senior officials. And they describe civilian protection structures within the U.S. government as dismantled under Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s “gloves off” approach to war.
Scholars highlighted that on the first day of the war, an elementary school in Minab, Iran, was attacked, killing at least 175 people, most of them children, as well as hospitals, water points, and energy infrastructure.
“We are gravely concerned by the strikes that have hit schools, health facilities and homes,” the letter said.
‘An alarming disregard’ for international law
The letter also condemned public statements by U.S. officials, including President Donald Trump.
In particular, he noted President Trump’s comments in mid-March in which he said the United States could attack Iran “just for fun.” The paper also cited comments from Pentagon Secretary Pete Hegseth in early March that said the United States would not fight with “stupid rules of engagement.”
“Public statements by senior government officials demonstrate an alarming disregard for the rules of international humanitarian law that are accepted by States and protect both civilian and military personnel,” the letter said.
He added that the war was costing U.S. taxpayers up to $2 billion a day.
The letter was co-authored by prominent legal scholars including Oona Hathaway and Harold Coe of Yale Law School, Philip Alston of New York University, and former Human Rights Watch Director Kenneth Roth.
The experts said their primary focus was on the actions of the U.S. government because of its ties to the United States, but they “remain concerned about the risk of atrocities across the region.”
The leaders also expressed concern about the harm this war is inflicting on the international legal order and the international legal system, emphasizing “the importance of the equal application of international law to all, including countries that claim to be world leaders.”
Urging the U.S. government to change course, the signatories wrote: “We call on U.S. government officials to consistently uphold the United Nations Charter, international humanitarian law, and human rights law, and to publicly articulate the United States’ commitment to and respect for the norms of international law.”
