Baghaei: When law falls silent before power, faith in rule of law in international relations collapses

Pars Today – Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei warned that if attacks on infrastructure or threats to attack become normalized in international relations, no country will remain immune from aggression by others.

According to Pars Today, citing IRIB, Esmaeil Baghaei, marking the 77th anniversary of the adoption of the four 1949 Geneva Conventions concerning the laws of war (international humanitarian law), wrote in a post on X:

“Today, 12 August, marks the anniversary of the adoption of the four Geneva Conventions in 1949—the core international treaties that established the most essential rules of the law of armed conflict, namely 'humanity', 'distinction', 'military necessity', 'proportionality', and the prohibition of 'unnecessary suffering' in order to civilize humanity and humanize war.”

Baghaei stressed: “The architects of these four treaties could scarcely have imagined that, in 2026—seventy seven years after the adoption of these instruments —the United States, host nation of the United Nations and a permanent member of the Security Council, would repeatedly threaten to attack the infrastructure, bridges, and power plants of another country, and would in fact commit such crimes.”

The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman stated: “The international community, the States Parties to the Geneva Conventions, and Switzerland as the depositary of these instruments cannot remain indifferent to such unprecedented violations, which constitute clear war crimes. Common Article 1 of the Geneva Conventions does not merely obligate States to respect the Conventions; it requires them to “ensure respect” for them as well. Silence in the face of explicit threats against civilian objects is not mere political passivity—it is the erosion of one of the most fundamental civilizational and legal achievements of the post-World War II era.”

The message continued: “Wherever the law falls silent before power, what collapses is not merely a bridge or a power plant, but humanity’s confidence in the possibility of the rule of law in international relations.”

Baghaei stressed: “If the threat to destroy civilian infrastructure becomes normalized in international affairs, no state can any longer feel secure about the inviolability of its hospitals, electricity grids, bridges, water facilities, or other vital arteries against external aggression. This is not merely a threat against one government; it is a regression of the entire legal order that humanity has built in its pursuit of civilization and the restraint of violence. Yet for us Iranians, the answer remains clear: No storm can shift a mountain from its place, and no number of trials can break those who stand firm on the path of resolve.”