As President Donald Trump weighs whether to follow through with his threat to bomb Iran’s critical infrastructure if there is no deal by tonight, the Pentagon prepared options for him that include targets that are used for both military and civilian purposes, according to two U.S. officials.
Trump has said he would target Iran’s bridges and power plants, including electrical and desalinization facilities, which could amount to a war crime.
But targeting infrastructure that is considered “dual use” could allow the administration to argue the U.S. is hitting military targets and avoid the technical definition of a war crime.
The U.S. military is typically extremely mindful of this distinction and historically seeks to avoid intentionally targeting civilians or civilian infrastructure.
Attacking electricity plants or other civilian infrastructure indiscriminately would violate international law and could be prosecuted as a war crime, according to legal experts and retired military lawyers.
Targeting civilian objects can only be permitted if the facility provides direct support to the military and attacking it will not cause disproportionate harm to the civilian population, experts say.
But Trump is threatening all of Iran’s civilian infrastructure in blanket warnings, suggesting the U.S. will conduct indiscriminate air strikes. And even the president’s rhetoric in and of itself could be treated as a possible war crime by issuing repeated threats that arguably terror among a civilian population, experts said.
The U.S. government previously accused Russia of committing war crimes for firing missiles and drones at power plants and other energy infrastructure in Ukraine, saying Moscow intentionally deprived civilians of heating and power without any clear military advantage or purpose.
At the White House on Monday, Trump was asked about the impact that bombing Iran’s critical infrastructure could have on the Iranian people, who he has said repeatedly are the key to creating a revolution inside the country and ending Iran’s threat to stability.
Trump said Iranians “would be willing to suffer that for their freedom.” He suggested the Iranian people would accept the U.S. and Israel targeting those sites in order to bring about change in the country. “We’ve had numerous intercepts: Please keep bombing bombs that are dropping near their homes. Please keep bombing. Do it,” Trump said, referring to Iranian comments picked up through a sensitive intelligence gathering tool that intercepts conversations.
Trump continued: “And these are people that are living where the bombs are, saying, ‘please come back, come back, come back.’ These are the people I don’t know what they do, all I can tell you is, they want freedom.”