WASHINGTON / GENEVA, March 3, 2026 —The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) condemns in the strongest terms the US and Israeli military attacks on Iran, which are in flagrant violation of international law and risk unleashing a prolonged war. These acts of aggression are dangerous, destabilizing, and destructive to human life and the environment. They also constitute an assault on the rule of law and on international peace and security. We express solidarity and respect for all affected by the ongoing militarization and escalating violence across the region.
Legitimate demands for freedom, democracy, and the protection of human rights — including those of the Iranian people suffering under a repressive regime — must not be weaponized to continue to advance a ‘might makes right’ agenda. Claims that launching an unprovoked and illegal attack is about defending human rights ring hollow when military strikes have already killed hundreds of civilians and intensified suffering as violence escalates — particularly when those same human rights are flagrantly violated by the US and by Israel, both domestically and abroad. Bombs do not yield peace, democracy, climate justice, or human rights.
The attacks on Iran further destabilize a region scarred by decades of imperialism, occupation, and impunity, and still reeling from the ongoing genocide in Gaza and wider attacks across the region. This aggression echoes patterns of illegal invasion by external powers advancing their own interests through force at the expense of the people and planet, including in wars for oil.
Condoning, acquiescing in, or justifying these acts only invites more of the same. European leaders and other governments that remain silent or worse, support these unlawful acts of imperial aggression, share responsibility for the consequences, including the violation of human rights and the ongoing erosion of the international legal order. The international community must reject the normalization of the use of force, recommit to diplomacy, multilateralism and nuclear restraint, and prioritize the protection of life, human rights, the environment, and the rule of law.
Media Contact
Maria Frausto, Communications Director: [email protected]