US 'reckless' strikes on Iran damaging international law as Teheran weights retaliation

The US decision to bomb Teheran's atomic energy sites under international supervision on June 22 is "reckless" and risks turning international law into a mockery, say analysts.

They also expressed doubt that recent Israel-US strikes were just an attempt to undermine Iran's government and its nuclear activities.

Instead, they said the attacks were more about asserting dominance over the Middle East and countries that challenge "imperialist agendas", including the broader Israeli strategy to quell countries in support of a Palestinian state.

Rasha Al Joundy, a senior researcher at the Dubai Public Policy Research Centre in the United Arab Emirates, said that the US being directly involved in attacking Iranian nuclear sites was a success for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

She said Netanyahu has "accomplished a political and military victory" that he had been seeking for many years, "despite the loss the Israelis had to bear".

Al Joundy added that she believes Iran is "still calculating the scenario" as it had not targeted US troops in the Middle East region.

On June 22, the US Department of State issued an advisory for its citizens overseas "to exercise increased caution", citing the conflict between Israel and Iran, which has disrupted travel and caused periodic closure of airspace across the Middle East.

Mehran Kamrava, a professor of government at Georgetown University in Qatar, told China Daily that the US targeting Iran's nuclear sites was "a reckless decision that is sure to have repercussions for a number of years".

"The Iranian response is sure to come. What shape or what extent it will have is yet to be determined. But Iran's past behavior has indicated that it does not take punches without retaliating," Kamrava said.

"This is a major escalatory development and it is something with which the United States will have to deal with for some time to come," he added.

In a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said the US must be punished for its acts of aggression and military strikes on Iran's nuclear sites.

Macron had called on Iran to show self-restraint during the call, but Pezeshkian reiterated that the US attacked Iran first, and it was only natural that Iran would respond to the US aggression.

The Iranian president described the offense as "a symbol of the insincerity of the US" and its unfounded claims regarding negotiation and peace.

Pezeshkian also noted that Iran and the US discussed trust during indirect talks mediated by Oman, but then turned around and attacked Iranian nuclear sites.

On Iran's engagement with Europe, Pezeshkian told Macron that Iran has always declared its readiness for dialogue with Europe and has never abandoned the path of diplomacy.

Abdolreza Alami, director of the Asia West East Centre in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, said he believes the recent escalations are not merely an attempt to undermine Iran's government or "dismantle the Axis of Resistance" — an informal, Iran-led coalition of regional forces opposing Western and Israeli hegemony.

"It is a calculated effort to assert dominance over the Middle East and suppress independent nations that challenge imperialist agendas," said Alami.

He also said Washington's betrayal of diplomacy was "particularly egregious", noting the attacks launched just two days after US President Donald Trump promised a two-week window for peaceful negotiations.

Alami said this resulted in "shattering global trust in American commitments and exposing its pursuit of hegemony over dialogue".

"While Iran was engaged in dialogue and negotiations, Israel, in coordination with the US, launched an attack on Iranian soil. Now, with utter audacity, Trump, backed by Western powers, has attacked Iran's nuclear facilities, disregarding international law … plunging the region into tension and crisis," said Alami.

Iran's official has restated its adherence to the United Nations Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), shutting down concerns it would abandon the pact following US and Israeli attacks in recent days.

The assurance came from Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi, who declared that Teheran will continue to be a "committed member" of the NPT.

The pact, which entered into force in 1970, is aimed at limiting the spread of nuclear weapons based on non-proliferation, disarmament, and the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

Israel, Pakistan and India are not signatories to the NPT.

Hadi Rahmat Purnama, an assistant professor of international law and chair of the Centre for International Law Studies at the Faculty of Law at Universitas Indonesia in Jakarta, told China Daily the consequences could be lasting.

He said that continued disregard for international law could undermine the global system, based on the rule of law, and the UN Charter, leaving the conflict to escalate and broaden.

He added that other countries should push parties to the conflict to observe international law, singling out the permanent members of the UN Security Council, who he said should propose the emergency meeting to de-escalate the situation.

"These actions expose the double standards of these powers, who treat international law as a tool for their own interests, revealing their inherently criminal and self-serving nature," said Alami of the Asia West East Centre.

"I hope this situation awakens the world to the reality that international laws are mere pawns for these nations, and their hypocritical double standards underscore their predatory and opportunistic behavior," Alami added.

Cui Haipei in Dubai, UAE, contributed to this story.