Donald Trump has again threatened to “blow up” vast swathes of Iran’s civilian infrastructure — even naming every desalination plant — a threat that would cut off water to millions and, experts warn, would violate international law.
Until now the U.S. president has mainly signalled possible strikes against energy and power installations; on Monday he added water facilities to that list, intensifying the rhetoric.
In a social media message he wrote: “The United States of America is in serious discussions with a new, and more reasonable, regime to end our military operations in Iran,” and claimed that “great progress” has been achieved.
He continued: “But, if for any reason a deal is not shortly reached — which it probably will be — and if the Hormuz Strait is not immediately ‘Open for Business,’ we will conclude our lovely ‘stay’ in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their electric generating plants, oil wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalination plants!), which we have purposefully not yet ‘touched.'”
Legal experts stress that international law clearly prohibits making civilian infrastructure the object of attack or reprisals.
tional law at the University of Manchester, said Trump’s threat “reinforces the climate of impunity around collective punishment in warfare”.
“This is clearly an act of collective punishment, which is prohibited under international humanitarian law. You can’t deliberately harm an entire civilian population to pressure its government,” Suedi told Al Jazeera.