German Lawmakers Slam US-“Israeli” Strikes on Iran as Breach of Int’l Norms

By Staff, Agencies

A confidential legal analysis by the German Bundestag has raised serious doubts about the legality of the recent US and “Israeli” military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, suggesting both sets of attacks likely violated international law.

The findings, revealed by the German Press Agency [dpa] on Sunday, highlight growing concern within Europe over the justification and consequences of the joint military actions.

According to the report, drafted by the Bundestag’s Research Services, the “vast majority of international lawyers” would not consider “Israel’s” strikes a legitimate act of self-defense under the United Nations Charter.

For such actions to be legally justified, “Israel” would need to prove that Iran had both the intention to deploy nuclear weapons and the immediate capability to do so—criteria the report says were not met.

The United States launched its own strikes on Iranian nuclear infrastructure in support of “Israel” after nearly two weeks of escalating hostilities between the two regional rivals. However, the German legal experts note that if “Israel’s” initial strike was itself unlawful, then Washington cannot invoke the right of collective defense to justify its subsequent involvement.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who publicly backed the attacks, described them as “the dirty work that ‘Israel’ is doing for all of us.”

His comments have drawn criticism in light of the Bundestag’s legal assessment, particularly given Iran’s repeated denial that its nuclear program has any military dimensions.

The report was commissioned by Left Party lawmaker Ulrich Thoden, who said the findings amount to “a slap in the face for the German government.” He accused Berlin of aligning too closely with Washington and Tel Aviv during the crisis without proper legal scrutiny.

Russia and China have also condemned the US-“Israeli” operations, arguing they undermined the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty [NPT], which safeguards the rights of member states to pursue nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov alleged that the UK, Germany, and France exerted pressure on the International Atomic Energy Agency [IAEA] to include biased and alarmist language in its latest report on Iran—just weeks before the escalation.

Lavrov accused the European powers of adopting a “purely imperialist, neocolonial position,” and claimed they had pushed IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi to issue a politically charged assessment of Iran’s nuclear activities.

“Israel” launched its military action shortly after the IAEA board accused Iran of breaching its NPT obligations, raising questions about whether the timing of the attacks was coordinated with Western diplomatic pressure.