War crimes charge over the attack on Iran go too far

Describing the US–Israeli strike as the “supreme war crime” ignores Iran’s long record of aggression AdvertisementLettersWar crimes charge over the attack on Iran go too farMarch 4, 2026SaveYou have reached your maximum number of saved items.Remove items from your saved list to add more.ShareAAAGeoffrey Robertson is right that Iran’s regime is brutal (“US-Israel onslaught is a war crime”, March 4). But since 1979, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has funded and armed proxy groups across the Middle East. Hezbollah, created and backed by Tehran, carried out the 1983 Beirut bombing that killed 241 US servicemen and now holds tens of thousands of rockets aimed at Israel. Hamas, also supported by Iran, carried out the October 7 massacre. Iranian-backed militias have repeatedly attacked US forces in Iraq and Syria. This is not a peaceful country suddenly attacked. It is a regime that has exported violence for decades. The comparison with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine misses the mark. Ukraine was not sponsoring terrorist attacks against Russian civilians or backing militias committed to destroying Russia. Iran has openly supported groups dedicated to eliminating a UN member state. Robertson says there was no immediate threat. Surely countries are not required to wait until missiles are fired. Iran has amassed ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads and, according to US envoy Steve Witkoff, Iran’s negotiators reportedly said it had enough enriched uranium for 11 nuclear bombs. Such a missile build-up would make any nuclear weapons program far harder to stop once advanced. In that context, Robertson’s war crime charge goes too far. John Kempler, Rose BayDonald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu have decided on war regardless of the stance taken by world leaders from nations that have backed America and Israel in the past.APInternational law has never deterred despots from torture, repression, or unleashing their illegal proxies across the region. International law is a failed outcome that dictators use to their advantage. Jake Basger, Bondi BeachI’ve lost count of the number of times Geoffrey Robertson has accused the US president and Israel’s prime minister of war crimes. He is naive in the extreme to believe that the United Nations is capable of acting “under Chapter VII of its own charter” to set up “an international court to investigate and indict Iranian government officials who carried out the prison massacres in 1988″. The crimes were 28 years ago. Surely the priority is the reported 30,000 murders committed in Iran the last couple of months. The UN has neither the will nor capability to bring Iranian officials to account. The UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, recently congratulated Iran for the 47th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution. Riley Brown, Bondi BeachIf only the world leaders would listen to the comments of Geoffrey Robertson. I don’t presume to speak for my fellow citizens, but I feel overwhelmed and completely powerless about what is happening in the world. Our lives are disrupted with increased prices for fuel, which will affect every aspect of our lives with increased prices into the future. We have zero control over these inevitabilities. Robertson suggests new rules for the UN Security Council, which has in my opinion been a “toothless tiger” for years regarding Russia and China. The world is living with immense fear about the actions of US President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. To quote Robertson, this is a war crime with consequences of death for civilians and soldiers and should be dealt with so the world can return to decent democracies. Jill King, Lane CoveGeoffrey Robertson believes all negative consequences arising from the US/Israeli strike against the admittedly vile regime of Iran in the circumstances amount to the commission of war crimes by Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu. It follows that anyone aiding and abetting the preposterously named “Epic Fury” operation is an accessory, and equally guilty of the same crime, and liable to prosecution. Therefore, one hopes those in our government responsible for the management of our response to incidents like this are telling us the truth when they reject any suggestion the US requested we assist them, or that we gave the US access to Australian-based assets otherwise available for intelligence gathering or other purposes. Frederick Jansohn, Rose BayThe war on Iran by Trump and Netanyahu is not about liberating the oppressed Iranians. There is little care for them, evidenced by the bombing of a school which killed more than 100. Precision strikes have ensured the leaders are taken out but then it seems it’s pretty much open slather, with bombing raids murdering hundreds and, soon to be, thousands of civilians. The average Iranian has seen their family and friends murdered by one ruthless regime, to now witness more death at the hands of two others. Sue Adams, Dulwich HillAdvertisementSitting on the fenceThe Australian government needs to choose whether it supports the International Rule of Law or “might is