French researcher Thierry Coville, who specializes in Iran affairs, analyzes for France 24 the justifications and legitimacy of the Israeli-American attack on Iran from the perspective of international law. The military operation began on Saturday and led to the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Published on: 02/03/2026 - 09:04

What about international law in the military attack launched by Israel and the United States against Iran since Saturday? What about the political goal behind it and its human cost? In an interview with France 24, Thierry Coville, a researcher at the Institute of International and Strategic Relations in Paris (IRIS) who specializes in Iranian affairs, answers these questions, analyzing the justifications and legitimacy of the operation.

France 24: Is the Israeli-American operation in Iran surprising?

Terry Covell: This is the scenario that everyone feared, and therefore there is astonishment at the acceleration of historical events. We are living what we lived in June 2025 when Iran and the United States were negotiating the nuclear issue. I feel some surprise when I hear that Iran represents a threat to Israel because of its pursuit of an atomic bomb, as it has stopped enriching uranium since last June. In its recent negotiations with the United States, Tehran proposed suspending uranium enrichment during the remainder of Trump’s term, and then demanded its right to enrich uranium at the civilian level under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Read also: Who rules Iran in the transitional period after the killing of Khamenei?

It is clear that there is a violation and complete disregard for international law, since Trump said, to justify the attack, that he does not want Iran to obtain an atomic bomb. But since Iran is no longer enriching uranium, how can this attack be justified?

As for Israel, it attacked Iran in June, saying that it was preparing to possess an atomic bomb, which is not true according to all intelligence services in the world. Now, she says what worries her is the ballistic missile program.

It is a complete disdain for international law, and the result of this “catastrophic scenario”: many civilian casualties in Iran. We knew that Tehra would respond (to the attack), and what we see is that the destruction of the country has begun, and that the (Iranian) authority does not want to concede.

What is the political goal of all this? If the goal is regime change, then we are already headed toward something very costly, perhaps for the Israelis and Americans, but especially for the Iranians, with civilian casualties. Democracy, but at what human cost? It is a very worrying scenario.

We are in a situation where any country can attack any other country, you just have to make up an excuse.

Were the recent negotiations between the United States and Iran just a front?

Donald Trump stabbed [Iran] in the back three times: in May 2018 when he withdrew from the nuclear agreement, which the Iranians were respecting, in June 2025 when he allowed Netanyahu to attack Iran, while he was negotiating with Iran, and most recently, at a time when the negotiations were making progress, when Iran proposed suspending uranium enrichment for a limited period.

Read also: Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, was killed after more than three decades in power

Therefore, it seems to be believed that the ultimate goal of the Israelis and Americans is regime change in Iran. But in this case, what is the political purpose of this? Nobody knows.

The West says it defends the values ​​of human rights and respect for international law, but the civilians currently dying are considered collateral damage.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard promised a harsh response. Does he already have the necessary means?

There is a tendency among the Iranians to escalate and deceive (...) but I see that the Iranian side has warned that if it sees that its vital interests are at risk and that there is a desire to end the regime, it may consider all means legitimate, and from here stems its desire now to give a regional character to the conflict. This is very dangerous.

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