Consider This from NPR Iran War: Threats to attack civilian targets are raising concerns with legal experts
11 snips
Apr 2, 2026 
Gabor Rona, director of the Law and Armed Conflict Project and former Red Cross legal advisor, explains how attacks on power and desalination plants run up against international humanitarian law. He discusses distinctions between intentional and accidental civilian harm. He also covers why one side's violations do not legalize retaliation and outlines possible legal paths for accountability.
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Attacking Civilian Infrastructure Is A War Crime
- Deliberately attacking civilian infrastructure like desalination plants is a clear war crime under international law.
- Gabor Rona emphasizes both international law and the U.S. War Crimes Act prohibit such attacks, framing them as violations and possible terrorism.
Desalination Attacks Could Be Terrorism
- Targeting a desalination plant would violate both U.S. law and international prohibitions and could qualify as an act of terrorism.
- Gabor Rona cites the U.S. War Crimes Act and laws against spreading terror among civilians to make this specific legal link.
Mistakes Can Still Be War Crimes
- Both intentional and mistaken attacks can be war crimes under U.S. law if due diligence isn't followed.
- Rona contrasts an accidental bombing of a school with deliberate strikes on civilian infrastructure to highlight legal culpability.