Dr. Sun Nanxiang: Violations of International Law by the US Government in the US-Iran Conflict

In the recent US-Iran Conflict, the US Government has carried a series of unilateral military adventures, which have drastically raised the tension in the Middle East. Recently, Dr. Sun Nanxiang, an expert of international economic law at the CASS Institute of International Law, was interviewed by Xinhua News Agency on the actions taken by the US government in the US-Iran conflict. In the interview, Dr. Sun pointed out that the US action of assassinating Mr. Qasem Soleimani, an Iranian general, in Iraq was not an act of self-defense, and therefore constituted a violation of the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and the basic principle of international relationship. After the assassination of Mr. Soleimani, President Trump threatened to attack 52 targets in Iran, including some cultural heritages. Dr. Sun Nanxiang pointed out that, in modern warfare, only military targets, not civilians or civilian targets, let long culture relics, can be attacked. The protection of culture relics is also a state obligation under the Geneva Conventions and a series of other international conventions. Refusal to comply with this obligation not only violates international conventions, but also constitutes an international crime. As for the US Government’s refusal to issue visa to Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif for attending the meeting of the UN Security Council in New York, Dr. Sun pointed out that it was a violation of the Agreement between the United Nations and the United States on United Nations Headquarters, according to which the United Nations Headquarters is an inviolable territory of the UN, to which no US federal or state law shall apply, and the US Government has the obligation to issue visa to public officials of any UN member state for attending activities at the UN Headquarters. Also, Dr. Sun pointed out the US Government’s refusal to withdraw its troops from the Iraqi territory despite the strong demand by the Iraqi Government is a blatant violation of the national sovereignty of Iraq, which is protected by the UN Charter.