May 21, 2026
Lawrence Douglas
America’s war on Iran is widely considered an illegal act of aggression in clear violation of the United Nations Charter. But assessing whether the war's planners should face prosecution raises difficult questions, largely owing to ongoing uncertainties about the meaning and scope of criminal aggression.
AMHERST—Many commentators, including those on the right, have dubbed US President Donald Trump’s “Operation Epic Fury” against Iran “Operation Epic Fail”: an extravagant waste of money, military hardware, and lives in the service of an ill-conceived war with ever-changing objectives. Meanwhile, most legal observers consider the operation an illegal act that violates the United Nations Charter’s prohibition on the use of military force except for self-defense or in armed interventions authorized by the Security Council.
