What are the ‘normal’ pages in international law and where will the US, Iran strike? | | US-Israel War on Iran News

The United States and Iran are locked in an escalating standoff that they say is aimed at preventing the other from taking military power in the Strait of Hormuz.

When the US pounds the south of Iran and, in recent days, other parts of the country, Tehran has also returned, attacking US forces in neighboring countries in the Gulf and Jordan.

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But the projectiles fired by the US and Iran have also affected civilian activities, raising questions about violations of international law, even as the fragile peace agreement (MoU) signed by the two countries in June has collapsed.

“We’re going to take out all their lights. We’re going to tear down all their bridges unless they come to the table and negotiate,” US President Donald Trump threatened in an interview with Fox News last week. He made similar threats to civilian security earlier in April.

At least 50 people have died in Iran since the violence resumed, and 500 have been injured since July 15, according to Iranian officials. Many areas in the south and northwest of Iran have been affected in the past week, from military command centers to railways and airports.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has retaliated against neighboring Gulf states hosting US military equipment, resulting in the deaths of at least two US soldiers.

International humanitarian law specifically prohibits the targeting of civilians in war. The US and Israel hit several civilian targets in the first phase of the war they launched against Iran on February 28, including girls. school in Minab where at least 170 people were killed.

The spokesman for the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, said on Friday that he was “especially concerned about the attacks on civilians in Iran and in the whole region”, adding that “such attacks are unacceptable”.

So what exactly is civilian infrastructure, and what areas have been affected so far in the second US-Israeli war in Iran? Here’s what we know:

What does the law say?

The 1949 Geneva Conventions and the 1977 Additional Protocols prohibit armed attacks or reprisals against civilians or “objects” during armed conflict.

Civilian buildings include “all objects that are not for military purposes”, the law says, and are “usually dedicated to civilians, such as a place of worship, a house, another building or a school”.

This includes any facilities that support the daily lives of ordinary people and are essential to the way people work: roads, bridges, railways, airports, power stations, sewage, hospitals, telephones and the Internet, for example.

The agreement states that the installation and supply of drinking water, irrigation works, food, crops, livestock and dams, parks, and nuclear power plants are also exempt.

When in doubt whether the object serves a military or civilian purpose, parties must assume that it is civilian and therefore cannot attack it, the law says.

Can civilian infrastructure be targeted?

Yes, under certain conditions it is well established.

Civilian buildings are legal only if it is proven that “they were used for military purposes during the attack and that their destruction provides a definite military advantage”, according to the agreement.

However, the law mandates that such attacks ensure that legitimate attacks on civilians remain “proportionate to the military advantage”.

In short, attacks on suspected civilians are prohibited if the risks to civilians—death, injury, and the normal functioning of civilian life—exceed the military benefits.

“The main point is that infrastructure is civilian and protected until it becomes a military target for enemy use or future use,” Luke Moffett, a law professor and expert on civilian destruction at Queen’s University Belfast, told Al Jazeera.

The US and NATO forces have used this for attacks on electronic or water resources in Iraq or Libya, even though they have harmed civilians, the professor said.

Because there is a very thin line between preventing an enemy from using infrastructure and disrupting civilians, the military must always ensure that targets provide a combat advantage and that harm to civilians does not continue, he added.

“Otherwise it would be an indiscriminate attack,” Moffett said. Such indiscriminate attacks can be charged with war crimes.

Where did the US hit Iran?

Iranian journalists and government officials have said that the United States has been attacked several times in the protection of civilians as defined by the Geneva Convention, especially in the southern part of the coast near the Strait of Hormuz. Washington says it only focused on “army consolidation”.

Experts say US military lawyers may be clearing some targets as “dual use”, meaning they could be used for military purposes.

Road and bridge network

• In the city of Bandar Abbas, which has Iran’s largest military port and largest commercial port, the railway and the Kahurestan bridge were hit. This bridge connects Bandar Abbas to other cities. Many people died during the strike, and one car collapsed.
• In the greater Hormozgan province of which Bandar Abbas is the capital, six bridges were destroyed in Bandar Khamir district, preventing people from going to and from Bandar Abbas. They include Gariyeh Bridge, a bridge near Latidan village, two small bridges on Kahurestan-Lar road, Marou village bridge connecting Bandar Khamir and Bandar Abbas, and an unfinished bridge along Bandar Khamir-Keshar-Bandar Abbas.
• The Aq Taqeh Khan railway bridge in Golestan province, which connects Iran with China and Russia via Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan, was also hit.
• A strike has taken place on the railway between Tehran and the city of Mashhad, which is in the Razavi Khorasan district, during the funeral of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei.

Health center

• Shahid Baghaei Hospital in Ahvaz was hit and over 200 patients were evacuated.

Water and food

• In Musian, Dehloran province, a bottled water station was hit. In the past this area was targeted in the first phase of the war.
• A desalination plant in the village of Bonji was hit south of Jask, cutting off 10,000 people from the water.
• A grain warehouse was reportedly hit in Hoveyzeh district and another in Dasht-e Azadegan district, both in Khuzestan province.
• A desalination plant was also affected in Bomani, Sirik district during the milder clashes after the April ceasefire and before the agreement was signed.

Airports and ports

• Iranian authorities say they have carried out an attack on an airport in the southern city of Iranshahr that injured one person and damaged electricity and a fuel tank and caused a blackout.
• At Semnan, parts of the airport were hit and partially damaged.
• Iranian media reported an attack on the Tohid-Jam airport in Jam.
• Fishing and trading centers were hit in Sirik district, causing many injuries.
• Fishing and commercial areas were also affected in Bandar Abbas.
• Kish trading center was affected in Hormozgan province.
• Fishing facilities were also hit in Asaluyeh district, Bushhr province, causing local fishermen’s boats to catch fire.

Connecting platforms

• One communication platform was hit in Bandar Abbas while the law enforcement officers were being monitored.
• On Qeshm Island, a communications tower was hit and destroyed.

Residential, sewage and administrative buildings

• Attacks were reported in residential areas in Bandar Abbas.
• An environmental protection center was hit in Hajiabad, Hormozgan province, according to Iranian media.
• A search and rescue center was hit in Kish, Hormozgan province.
• A sewage treatment plant at Bandar Abbas’ popular tourist attraction, the Bird Garden, was hit.

Nuclear power plants

• The strikes have severely damaged the Bushehr nuclear plant, Iran’s only nuclear power plant, according to a Al Jazeera investigation. Officials say it is still working.
• Another site built by the Darkhovin nuclear power plant in southern Khuzestan was hit the weekend.

Where has Iran hit?

Iran has repeatedly targeted military sites – and increasingly, infrastructure – in Kuwait, Oman, Jordan and Qatar. The IRGC insists it is targeting US military equipment.

• Kuwait: Officials said the Iranian attack hit a power plant and water repeatedly, causing a huge fire and disrupting the main grid. Gas stations were also hit.
• Qatar: Officials say a child has been injured by debris that fell in Doha after blockaders tried to stop Iranian missiles. It is not clear whether the civilian reserve or the residential area was targeted.
• Strait of Hormuz: Several commercial tankers and ships have been hit in the Strait of Hormuz, off the coast of Oman, due to the use of methods that Iran has not approved.