The air strikes launched by the United States against nuclear sites located on Iranian soil, under the codename Operation Midnight Hammer, constitute a serious violation of international law. These attacks were carried out without authorisation from the United Nations, without a formal declaration of war, and in the absence of any immediate threat that might justify them.

Targets included facilities at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. These were struck by long-range bombers and cruise missiles in a military operation planned in secrecy and executed without consultation. This was not an act of lawful defence. It was a deliberate act of aggression.

The lawfulness of the operation has been challenged within the United States itself. Members of President Donald Trump’s own political party have condemned the strikes as unconstitutional. They have raised objections to the unilateral use of armed force without the consent of Congress or the people. These concerns reflect not partisanship, but a breakdown in the lawful exercise of executive power.

At the same time, the United States continues to provide unqualified support to the Government of Israel. That Government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has consistently disregarded international norms. It has expanded settlements on occupied land, conducted military actions of disproportionate scale, and resisted all forms of external oversight. It has also continued, and in recent months expanded, what many in the international community now recognise as a campaign of systematic violence against the Palestinian people, amounting to acts of genocide.

Such conduct has been enabled by a foreign policy that offers Israel not only alliance, but impunity. The Israeli Government is not held to the standards expected of other nations because it is shielded from accountability. That protection is extended by the United States.

The phrase “America First” has become hollow. What has emerged is a pattern in which the strategic aims of one foreign Government are treated as indistinguishable from those of the United States itself. This is not diplomacy. It is complicity.

This conflict did not begin with Iran. It began with Israeli escalation and was followed by an American military campaign of overwhelming scale. While further violence from Iran would endanger the region, the responsibility for this crisis lies with those who chose to strike first.

There must be no more killing, no further bombardment, and no widening of this war. But if blood is shed, it must be recognised that it was set in motion by two Governments which acted without regard for law, restraint, or consequence.

This is not a time for silence. It is a time for clarity.