Statement on reported threats against civilians and civilian infrastructure in Iran 

The IHL Centre strongly condemns US President Trump’s recent public statements (of April 5 and April 7 2026) threatening attacks on civilian infrastructure in Iran, including power plants and bridges, and stating that a ‘whole civilisation will die tonight’.  Such remarks are alarming not only because of the scale of violence they imply, but because they appear to endorse attacks on civilians and objects essential to civilian life. Under international humanitarian law (IHL), civilians and civilian objects are protected from attack. 

A civilian can only lose this protection if and for such time as they take a direct part in hostilities. Civilian objects may only be attacked if, and for such time as, they become military objectives—namely, objects which by their nature, location, purpose or use make an effective contribution to military action and whose destruction, capture or neutralisation offers a definite military advantage. Furthermore, this is only true when the impact on civilians has been assessed and is expected not to be excessive compared to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated from the attack. Attacking a country’s entire power infrastructure, indiscriminately, without vigorous scrutiny as to whether these civilian objects have temporarily lost their legal protection, and the impact of such attacks on civilians, would be a war crime.  

Broad public threats to kill a ‘whole civilisation’ and destroy power infrastructure are morally irresponsible and legally prohibited. They risk normalising unlawful attacks on civilian objects, eroding respect for the rules designed to protect civilians, and legitimising conduct likely to inflict severe civilian suffering. Furthermore, such threats (or acts) of violence the primary purpose of which is to spread terror among the civilian population, are prohibited at all times  

Members of all armed forces are legally bound to respect and ensure respect for the laws of armed conflict at all times. Orders that are manifestly unlawful—such as those directing attacks against civilians — must be refused. This is a clear and longstanding rule of international law, affirmed since the Nuremberg Trials: superior orders do not absolve individuals of responsibility for war crimes. U.S. military commanders swear to uphold the Constitution and to obey only lawful orders, and any directive to carry out war crimes is unlawful on its face.  

At a time when civilians across the region are already paying the price of escalating hostilities, rigorous compliance with IHL is not optional. It is essential to preserving a minimum of humanity and dignity in war. 

For more information on the current conflict in the region, please see our earlier statement of 2 March 2026 on escalation in hostilities in the Middle East. Please also see below an interview with Myra Saade (Manager of the IHL Centre's Middle East Unit), dated March 30 2026.

We remind humanitarian, diplomatic and media actors that the IHL Centre offers a free and confidential IHL advisory service, providing tailored legal guidance and analysis to support effective humanitarian advocacy and engagement. For any queries, please contact info@ihlcentre.org.