War of Words or a Regional Disaster? The (Il)Legality of Israeli and Iranian Military Options

As the intensity of the verbal exchanges between Israel and the Islamic Republic of Iran grows, so does the importance of analyzing the current Israeli-Iranian enmity. This note sets out to answer two questions: (1) Whether Israel has the right to attack Iran out of self-defense, and reciprocally; (...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Hastings international and comparative law review 2010-01, Vol.33 (1), p.203-243
Main Author: Gharagozli, Behnam
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Conflict
Iran
Israel
Military operations
National defense
Threats
War
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Summary:As the intensity of the verbal exchanges between Israel and the Islamic Republic of Iran grows, so does the importance of analyzing the current Israeli-Iranian enmity. This note sets out to answer two questions: (1) Whether Israel has the right to attack Iran out of self-defense, and reciprocally; (2) whether Iran has the right to attack Israel out of self-defense. This paper will argue that while neither side may legally invoke the right of preemption or Article 51 self-defense, there is ample evidence to suggest that Iran has more of a reason to fear an Israeli conventional attack on its nuclear installations than Israel has to fear an Iranian nuclear attack on its civilian population. Adapted from the source document.
ISSN:0149-9246