Atul Alexander

The US’s position on the strikes against Iran was in pursuance of ‘collective self defence’ of its troops and its “ally” Israel. While issues of ‘use of force’, ‘individual self defence’ and ‘aggression’ have received some scholarly attention, the concept of ‘collective self defence’ prone to much abuse, must be studied closely too.

Since the US military aircraft attacks on three Iranian nuclear facilities last week, international law experts have been split on whether there was a violation of international law. A close examination of the attack makes clear that they constituted ‘aggression’, an aggravated form of ‘use of force’, and hence the U.S.’s position of portraying the attacks as self-defence is largely untenable.

The US blockade of Venezuela implicates aggression, self-defence, and the prohibition on the use of force under international law.

The US’s Venezuela operation violates core obligations of the UN Charter, from use of force and aggression, to self defence and territorial sovereignty.