ACLJ To the UN: Israel Has a Legal Right To Defend Itself Against Iran

With so many conflicting narratives surrounding the military actions of the United States and Israel against Iran, it’s time to set the record straight. As usual, Israel is being placed under intense scrutiny for defending itself.

That’s why we sent letters to the United Nations Secretary-General and the U.N. Security Council in support of Israel’s Operation Roaring Lion. Our letter focuses on why Israel and the United States have the legal right to defend themselves against Iran’s ongoing attacks and sustained pattern of aggression.

Time after time, Iranian officials have voiced rhetoric showcasing their desire and intent to annihilate the State of Israel. In our letter, sent through our international affiliate, the European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ), which has special consultative status at the U.N., we stated:

Iran possesses the ability to destroy Israel and the intent to do it. . . . In June 2025, for example, Iran’s (now deceased) Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, stated that the Iranian “armed forces will act with determination and destroy the despicable Zionist regime.” In February 2025, Ebrahim Jabbar, a high-ranking General in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard, said that “Iran would launch ‘Operation True Promise 3’ at the ‘right time’ on a scale ‘sufficient to destroy Israel’[]” and that the operation can “raze Tel Aviv and Haifa to the ground.”

Take action with ACLJ. Sign the petition: Defend Israel From Anti-Israel Attacks Across the Globe.

And Iran has demonstrated this passion by using proxies (such as Hamas and Hezbollah) to directly attack Israel. Our letter notes:

Iran has been prominently supporting these groups in a variety of ways, including financially and militarily. The October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on southern Israel, which resulted “in 1,183 fatalities and over 4,000 wounded[,]” leaves no doubt. In fact, following the October 7 attack, documents seized by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) indicated “that Hamas coordinated with Iran for about two years in preparation for a strategic operation against Israel, with the leaderships of Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran preparing both strategically and tactically for a defining event against Israel.

Iran’s pattern of aggression towards Israel, and its determination to develop nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, leaves no room for doubt that it is an imminent threat to the safety of not just Israel, but the international community.

We noted in our letter that Article 2(4) of the U.N. Charter prohibits Member states from threatening or attacking the “territorial integrity or political independence of any state.” And states have an inherent right to defend themselves from imminent attack, as codified in Article 51 of the U.N. Charter. Iran has already attacked both Israel and the United States through its proxies, triggering the right to self-defense.

However, even if Iran had not attacked Israel and the United States through its proxies, both nations would still have the right to preemptive self-defense under customary international law in anticipation of an armed attack. Opinion varies as to how imminent an attack must be to justify such an action. The standard most applicable to modern conflicts holds that a state may act when the final “window of opportunity” to defend itself is about to close.

Iran has made it clear that it intends to destroy Israel. It has on numerous occasions attacked both Israel and the United States through its terrorist proxies, and it continues its pursuit to enrich weapons-grade uranium despite all the international diplomacy to convince it otherwise. There is now a window of opportunity for Israel and the United States to act in anticipatory self-defense before Iran closes the window and carries out its threats to destroy the “Zionist” state. And that is the opportunity they seized upon.

Take action with ACLJ. Sign the petition: Defend Israel From Anti-Israel Attacks Across the Globe.