In the Media

The Mercury – 30 March 2026

Since the US and Israeli campaign against Iran began, we have heard claims they are conducting an illegal war of aggression and Iran posed no threat. Greg Barns’ March 23 column is a prime example. These claims are untrue.

Iran has effectively been at war with the US since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, when US Embassy staff were taken hostage. Attacks by the regime and its terrorist proxies have killed more than 1,000 Americans in the Middle East since then.

The regime regards the US as the “Great Satan” and Israel as the “Little Satan” and constantly chants for death to both. It aspires to drive the US out of the Middle East, so it can better spread its Islamic revolution through the region, and genuinely intends to destroy Israel.

It has long been attacking Israel through its proxies, mainly Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in the West Bank. It has spent many billions of dollars arming and funding them, and coordinates attacks with them.

Hamas has started numerous wars from Gaza since Israel totally withdrew from the strip in 2005, culminating in the October 7 horrors. Iran can’t dissociate itself from this violence just because it hasn’t perpetrated these attacks itself. In 2024, it did twice attack Israel with massive missile and drone barrages.

The current Israeli and US action is therefore legal, as it’s not a new war, but the continuation of an ongoing, long-running conflict started by Iran.

As for an imminent threat, Iran was mass-producing sophisticated ballistic missiles including those carrying cluster munitions, and would soon have had enough to repeatedly overwhelm any missile defence system. There was intelligence it intended to use them soon

It was also building bunkers so deep they would have been impenetrable, to restart its nuclear weapons program with impunity. The threat was indeed imminent, so again, the US and Israel acted legally

The US is also criticised for attacking during negotiations. However, the US negotiators reported Iran had no intention of making reasonable concessions, and was just drawing out negotiations for tactical reasons.

Israel is also condemned for attacking Lebanon. Israel has only ever attacked Lebanon in response to unprovoked attacks from there. This century, the culprit has always been Hezbollah. In September 2024, Israel attacked Hezbollah after 11 months of Hezbollah rocket fire rendered Israel’s north uninhabitable. In the ceasefire agreement that ended that conflict, Hezbollah was to leave the area south of the Litani River, about 30 kilometres north of the Israel border, and would be disarmed.

Hezbollah’s renewed rocket fire from that area demonstrates the agreement has not been complied with. Israel is therefore entitled to enforce it, and to make its north safe from the Hezbollah terrorists. So again, it is acting legally, targeting only the terrorists and their infrastructure.

Seemingly civilian buildings are destroyed because Hezbollah, just like Hamas in Gaza, thoroughly permeates civilian areas and structures with its military. There are southern Lebanese villages where every building is used for military purposes, hiding tunnel entrances, housing rockets launchers or weapons and explosives, as snipers’ nests and so on.

Civilian buildings used for military purposes lose their international law protection from attack. The party misusing them for its military commits a war crime, and is regarded as responsible for any destruction.

It is also alleged that Israel’s displacement of civilians in Lebanon is illegal. Certainly, permanently displacing civilians from their homes is illegal. However, that’s not what Israel is doing. Israel is temporarily evacuating civilians for their own safety, so it can attack the terrorists who hide and set up their military infrastructure among them and remove that infrastructure.

Those claiming Israel is conducting an illegal displacement would also claim that it’s illegal for Israel to attack those areas with civilians there. If it’s illegal for Israel to evacuate the civilians, and to attack while the civilians are there, then terrorists could attack Israel or any other country with complete impunity if they had civilian areas to retreat to.

That is a complete perversion of international law. The law doesn’t operate to protect or facilitate terrorists.

Most Middle East violence this century traces back to Iran. The regime and its proxies have been responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands and brought death and devastation to Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Gaza. The regime has also murdered, wounded or imprisoned tens of thousands of its own citizens merely for exercising their right to protest.

If this conflict brings about an end to the regime, it would truly transform life for all in the Middle East for the better, and maybe even lead to widespread and lasting peace. However, even if the regime endures, its ability to cause death and mayhem throughout the region and threaten its neighbours will have been significantly degraded, something we should all welcome.