If Trump commits war crimes in Iran, he can be prosecuted | Kenneth Roth

There is no question that Trump’s threats, if carried out, would amount to war crimes. The international justice system is positioned to act Donald Trump is openly threatening war crimes in Iran because he apparently thinks he can get away with them. Sadly, the US supreme court has given him reason to believe in his impunity within the United States. But there are international options for prosecution that lie beyond the court’s lawless license. They are not easy to exercise, but the terrible precedent of the world’s most powerful president openly flouting international humanitarian law should compel action. There is no doubt that Trump is contemplating war crimes. As part of his plan to bomb Iran “back to the stone ages” and wipe out a “whole civilization”, Trump has threatened to destroy such civilian infrastructure as desalination plants, electrical-generating facilities and bridges. Even if there is some military use of these facilities – soldiers drink water, deploy electricity, drive over bridges – the anticipated “concrete and direct military advantage” of destroying them pales in comparison with the likely civilian consequences. That violates international humanitarian law’