The US secretary of defence, Pete Hegseth, and Donald Trump at a press conference after the US strike on Venezuela. The US can veto any UN move to impose sanctions. Photograph: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
…
Is the US operation in Venezuela justified under international law?
The experts the Guardian spoke to agreed that the US is likely to have violated the terms of the UN charter, which was signed in October 1945 and designed to prevent another conflict on the scale of the second world war. A central provision of this agreement – known as article 2(4) – rules that states must refrain from using military force against other countries and must respect their sovereignty.
Geoffrey Robertson KC, a founding head of Doughty Street Chambers and a former president of the UN war crimes court in Sierra Leone, said the attack on Venezuela was contrary to article 2(4) of the charter. “The reality is that America is in breach of the United Nations charter,” he added. “It has committed the crime of aggression, which the court at Nuremberg described as the supreme crime, it’s the worst crime of all.”
Elvira Domínguez-Redondo, a professor of international law at Kingston University, described the operation as a “crime of aggression and unlawful use of force against another country”. Susan Breau, a professor of international law and a senior associate research fellow at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, agreed that the attack could have only been considered lawful if the US had a resolution from the UN security council or was acting in self-defence. “There is just no evidence whatsoever on either of those fronts,” Breau said.
dizzy: I regard genocide as “the worst crime of all.”
Orcas discuss Donald Trump and the killer apes’ concept of democracy. Front Orca warns that Trump is crashing his country’s economy and that everything he does he does for the fantastically wealthy.Donald Fuhrump says that Amerikkka doesn’t bother with crimes or charges anymore, not being 100% Amerikkkan and opposing his real estate intentions is enough.
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Rabbi Eli Schlinger [Eli Schlanger (C).[Facebook/elischlange]
Rabbi Eli Schlinger, who was killed in an armed attack in Sydney on Sunday, had previously visited Israel and met with Israeli soldiers, encouraging them to continue the war of genocide against the Gaza Strip, an Israeli television channel and an Israeli activist have revealed.
Schlinger was among 12 people killed and at least 29 others wounded during an armed attack that took place during Hanukkah celebrations at Bondi Beach in Sydney, according to Australian authorities. The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation(Kan) confirmed that Schlinger was an emissary of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement in Australia.
Israeli activist and journalist Hanoch Daom wrote on Instagram that Schlinger travelled to Israel following 7 October 2023, where he met with Israeli soldiers to offer what Daom described as “support and encouragement” during the ongoing military campaign in Gaza.
Israel’s Channel 12 later broadcast an image showing Schlinger sitting among Israeli soldiers atop a military vehicle. The broadcaster did not clarify where or when the photograph was taken, nor whether it was inside the Gaza Strip.
Schlinger’s social media accounts show that he used the image of himself with Israeli soldiers as his profile picture on both Facebook and Instagram, openly expressing support for the Israeli army.
The Chabad-Lubavitch movement has long rejected Palestinian national rights and opposes any political settlement that would grant Palestinians sovereignty over occupied territory.
Israel’s genocide in Gaza has, for more than two years, resulted in the killing of over 70,000 Palestinians and the wounding of more than 171,000 others, most of them women and children, according to Palestinian health authorities and international organisations. The campaign has triggered widespread international condemnation and deepened Israel’s global isolation.
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Genocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpAKeir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.Orcas discuss Genocide-supporting and complicit Zionists. Donald Trump, Keith Starmer, David Lammy, Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting are acknowledged as evil genocide-complicit and supporting cnuts.
Smoke rises from an explosion, after an Israeli strike, in Doha, Qatar, September 9, 2025. Photo: UGC via AP
QATAR’S Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani is demanding a “collective response” to Israel’s deadly attack on the Qatari capital Doha.
Sheikh Mohammed told US news channel CNN on Wednesday that “there is a response that will happen from the region. This response is currently under consultation and discussion with other partners in the region, adding that “the entire Gulf region is at risk.”
He accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of leading the region into “chaos” and hoped the response from Arab nations would be “something meaningful that deters Israel from continuing this bullying.”
The Qataris plan to host an Arab-Islamic summit on Sunday and Monday, the country’s QNA news agency reported.
Sheikh Mohammed also said that the Israeli strike was aimed at undermining “any chance of peace” in Gaza.
He said: “I think that what [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu did yesterday — he just killed any hope for those [Israeli] hostages.” Twenty captives are believed to be still alive in Gaza.
Even as there was widespread international condemnation of the attack on Doha, the Israeli prime minister threatened further attacks, saying that “Qatar and all nations who harbour terrorists, you either expel them or you bring them to justice. Because if you don’t, we will.”
Genocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpAKeir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.Vote Labour for Genocide.
When Israel launched a surprise military strike on Iran last week, it did more than risk igniting a catastrophic regional war. It also exposed long-simmering tensions in Washington—between entrenched bipartisan, pro-Israel hawks and a growing current of lawmakers (and voters) unwilling to be dragged into another Middle East disaster.
“This is not our war,” declared Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), one of the House’s most consistent antiwar voices. “Israel doesn’t need U.S. taxpayers’ money for defense if it already has enough to start offensive wars. I vote not to fund this war of aggression.” On social media, he polled followers on whether the U.S. should give Israel weapons to attack Iran. After 126,000 votes (and 2.5 million views), the answer was unequivocal: 85% said no.
For decades, questioning U.S. support for Israel has been a third rail in Congress. But Israel’s unprovoked attack on Iran—coming just as the sixth round of sensitive U.S.-Iran nuclear talks were set to take place in Oman—sparked rare and unusually direct criticism from across the political spectrum. Progressive members, already furious over Israel’s war on Gaza, were quick to condemn the new offensive. But they weren’t alone.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) called Israel’s strike “reckless” and “escalatory,” and warned that Prime Minister Netanyahu is trying to drag the U.S. into a broader war. Rep. Chuy García (D-IL) called Israel’s actions “diplomatic sabotage” and said, “the U.S. must stop supplying offensive weapons to Israel, which also continue to be used against Gaza, & urgently recommit to negotiations.”
Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA) was even more blunt. “The war criminal Netanyahu wants to ignite an endless regional war & drag the U.S. into it. Any politician who tries to help him betrays us all.”
Netanyahu’s strikes on Iran are acts of diplomatic sabotage that risk escalation, endangering civilians in both countries & across the region.
The US must stop supplying offensive weapons to Israel, which also continue to be used against Gaza, & urgently recommit to…
— Congressman Chuy García (@RepChuyGarcia) June 13, 2025
More striking, however, were the critiques from moderate Democrats and some Republicans.
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), a longtime advocate for requiring congressional approval before the U.S. gets involved in new wars, blasted Israel for jeopardizing planned U.S.-Iran diplomacy. “The American people have no interest in another forever war,” he wrote. Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, warned that strikes “threaten not only the lives of innocent civilians but the stability of the entire Middle East and the safety of American citizens and forces.”
Some pro-Israel Democrats are feeling comfortable speaking out on this conflict because it fits their anti-Trump critique. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) said:
We are at this crisis today because President Trump foolishly walked away from President Obama’s Iran nuclear agreement under which Iran had agreed to dismantle much of its nuclear program and to open its facilities to international inspections, putting more eyes on the ground. The United States should now lead the international community towards a diplomatic solution to avoid a wider war.”
Adding to this diverse chorus of opposition are some Republicans from the party’s non-interventionist wing. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) declared, “War with Iran is not in America’s interest. It would destabilize the region, cost countless lives, and drain our resources for generations.” Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH) lamented that “some members of Congress and U.S. Senators seem giddy about the prospects of a bigger war.”
War with Iran is not in America’s interest. It would destabilize the region, cost countless lives, and drain our resources for generations.
We should pursue diplomacy, not destruction. Engaging in dialogue with adversaries is not weakness; it’s the strength of a confident nation…
And in a rare show of agreement with progressive critics, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) blasted the hawks in both parties. “We’ve been told for the past 20 years that Iran is on the verge of developing a nuclear bomb any day now. The same story. Everyone I know is tired of U.S. intervention and regime change in foreign countries. Everyone I know wants us to fix our own problems here at home, not bomb other countries.”
Of course, many in Congress rushed to support Israel. Senate Republican leader John Thune said, “Israel has determined that it must take decisive action to defend the Israeli people.” Democratic Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) voiced full support for the strike and urged the U.S. to provide Israel “whatever is necessary—military, intelligence, weaponry.”
Our commitment to Israel must be absolute and I fully support this attack.
Keep wiping out Iranian leadership and the nuclear personnel.
We must provide whatever is necessary—military, intelligence, weaponry—to fully back Israel in striking Iran. https://t.co/3lm1YD6dVr
— U.S. Senator John Fetterman (@SenFettermanPA) June 13, 2025
The most crass was Senator Lindsey Graham, who posted:
Game on. Pray for Israel.”
But these crude pro-war responses, once guaranteed to go unchallenged, are now being met with resistance–and not just from activists. With public opinion shifting sharply–especially among younger voters, progressives, and “America First-ers” – the political calculus on unconditional support for Israel is changing. In the wake of Israel’s disastrous war in Gaza and its widening regional provocations, members of Congress are being forced to choose: follow the AIPAC money and the old playbook–or listen to their constituents.
If the American people continue to raise their voices, the tide in Washington could turn away from support for a war with Iran that could plunge the region into deeper chaos while offering no relief for the suffering people of Gaza. We could finally see an end to decades of disastrous unconditional support for Israel and knee-jerk support for catastrophic wars.
Feature photo | Israelis gather next to a direct hit site following an Iranian missile strike against Israel, June 16th 2025. Matan Golan | AP
Medea Benjamin is co-founder of Global Exchange and CODEPINK: Women for Peace. She is the co-author, with Nicolas J.S. Davies, of War in Ukraine: Making Sense of a Senseless Conflict, available from OR Books in November 2022. Other books include, “Inside Iran: The Real History and Politics of the Islamic Republic of Iran” (2018); “Kingdom of the Unjust: Behind the U.S.-Saudi Connection” (2016); “Drone Warfare: Killing by Remote Control” (2013); “Don’t Be Afraid Gringo: A Honduran Woman Speaks from the Heart” (1989), and (with Jodie Evans) “Stop the Next War Now” (2005).
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect MintPress News editorial policy.
Humanitarian aid trucks belonging to the World Food Programme (WFP) arrive in the Gaza via Erez border crossing as the Israeli attacks continue in Gaza City, Gaza on September 26, 2024 [Hasan Zaain – Anadolu Agency]
The UN World Food Programme said, on Monday, that Israeli forces had opened fire on one of its convoys in the besieged Palestinian enclave of Gaza in what it called a “horrifying incident”, Reuters reports.
The Agency said the convoy of three vehicles carrying eight staff members from central Gaza to Gaza City in the north was struck by 16 bullets near the Wadi Gaza checkpoint on Sunday, causing no injuries but immobilising the convoy.
The vehicles were clearly marked and had received prior security clearances from Israeli authorities, a WFP statement said.
“The World Food Programme (WFP) strongly condemns the horrifying incident on January 5,” it said.
“This unacceptable event is just the latest example of the complex and dangerous working environment that WFP and other agencies are operating in today,” WFP said, calling for improvements in security conditions to allow aid to continue.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the incident.
International aid agencies working to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza have frequently accused Israeli forces of hampering or threatening their operations amid Israel’s campaign to wipe out Hamas fighters.
Smoke rises from an explosion, after an Israeli strike, in Doha, Qatar, September 9, 2025. Photo: UGC via AP
