TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - US President Donald Trump again threatened to "blow up" various civilian infrastructure in Iran, including all of the country's desalination plants, on Monday. If carried out, this would threaten the water supply for millions of people and constitute a war crime, experts say.
The US president regularly warns Iran about possible US attacks on energy and power facilities, but on Monday, he added water stations to the target list.
"The United States of America is in serious discussions with A NEW, AND MORE REASONABLE, REGIME to end our Military Operations in Iran," Trump wrote in a social media post, as reported by Al Jazeera.
He added that "great progress" had been made in the talks.
“But, if for any reason a deal is not shortly reached, which it probably will be, and if the Hormuz Strait is not immediately ‘Open for Business,’ we will conclude our lovely ‘stay’ in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!), which we have purposefully not yet ‘touched’,’” the US president said.
War Crimes
International law explicitly prohibits making civilian sites “object of attack or of reprisals.”
Yusra Suedi, assistant professor of international law at the University of Manchester, said Trump’s threat “reinforces the climate of impunity around collective punishment in warfare.”
“This is clearly an act of collective punishment, which is prohibited under international humanitarian law. You can’t deliberately harm an entire civilian population to pressure its government,” Suedi told Al Jazeera.
The Fourth Geneva Convention states: “Collective penalties and likewise all measures of intimidation or of terrorism are prohibited.”
Raed Jarrar, advocacy director at the human rights group DAWN, said Trump's threat constituted "clear, public evidence of criminal intent."
"Threatening to obliterate a nation’s power grid, oil infrastructure and water supply to coerce its government is not a negotiating tactic; it is textbook collective punishment and a war crime," Jarrar told Al Jazeera.
The White House later said on Monday that Trump had made it clear to Iran that the US has "capabilities beyond their wildest imagination."
Asked about the illegality of targeting civilian sites, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters: "This administration and the United States Armed Forces will always act within the confines of the law."
Annie Shiel, US director at the Center for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC), described Trump's threat as "appalling."
"President Trump is threatening to destroy infrastructure — like electrical and water facilities — that is essential for civilian survival," Shiel told Al Jazeera.
“The impacts of such attacks would be devastating and widespread: think hospitals without power for life-saving care, illnesses from a lack of clean water, and people completely cut off from communications, unable to reach loved ones or access emergency information.”
Trump first issued a threat to target Iran’s power grid and energy infrastructure on March 21, giving Tehran a 48-hour deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
The US president then postponed the deadline for five days before extending it again to April 6.
Over the past week, Trump has claimed that Iran is “begging” for a deal and that talks between Washington and Tehran are underway.
Although Tehran has acknowledged receiving a 15-point ceasefire proposal from Washington through intermediaries, several Iranian officials have denied any direct negotiations with the US.
US Timeline ‘Still in Place’
Both Iran and the US have declared they are winning the war. Leavitt said Monday that the Pentagon’s initial four- to six-week timeframe for ending the war “does remain.” The conflict has entered its fifth week.
Although several high-ranking Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, have been assassinated by the US and Israel, there is no public evidence to support Trump's claim that a new government is in place.
Khamenei was succeeded by his son, Mojtaba, an appointment Trump has condemned.
Despite Trump's frequent threats, Iran continues to fire missiles and drones across the region and close the Strait of Hormuz, causing energy prices to spike worldwide.
Iran's ruling system has not faced any major protests or defections against the government during the conflict, as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps leads the country's war efforts.
So far, Trump's threats to "obliterate" Iran's civilian infrastructure have not deterred Tehran's attacks or affected the defiance expressed by Iranian officials.
This month, Iran accused the US and Israel of attacking a desalination plant on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz. Separately, authorities said Iranian attacks damaged water facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait.
Iran, which is less dependent on desalination plants for drinking water than some of its Gulf neighbors, has threatened civilian infrastructure across the region if its own facilities are targeted by the US and Israel.
Read: IAEA Confirms Severe Damage to Iran's Nuclear Facilities
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