New York County Lawyers Association Rule of Law Task Force Condemns the President’s Threats of Indiscriminate Attacks on Iranian Civilian Targets

NEW YORK COUNTY LAWYERS ASSOCIATION RULE OF LAW TASK FORCE CONDEMNS THE PRESIDENT’S THREATS OF
INDISCRIMINATE ATTACKS ON IRANIAN CIVILIAN TARGETS

Earlier this month, the President of the United States threatened to destroy the entire population of Iran. On April 1, 2026, the President said in a prime-time address to our nation, “We are going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks. We are going to bring them back to the Stone Ages, where they belong,” https://www.whitehouse.gov/releases/2026/04/president-trump-delivers-powerful-primetime-address-on-operation-epic-fury/. And on April 7, he said that if the Iranian government did not agree to a “deal,” a “whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,”  https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/trump-warns-a-whole-civilization-will-die-tonight-if-a-deal-with-iran-isnt-reached.  

This Presidential rhetoric violates the foundational rules of our domestic and international law. The Rule of Law Task Force of the New York County Lawyers Association condemns these statements by the President.

There is an internationally recognized law of war, which the United States has adopted. The key rules governing the conduct of war are set forth in the United States Department of Defense Law of War Manual.  https://media.defense.gov/2023/Jul/31/2003271432/-1/-1/0/DOD-LAW-OF-WAR-MANUAL-JUNE-2015-UPDATED-JULY%202023.PDF. A core rule is that the US shall not threaten mass violence against or otherwise spread terror among a civilian population.

Section 5.2.2 of the DOD Law of War Manual declares that “[m]easures of intimidation or terrorism against the civilian population are prohibited, including acts or threats of violence, the primary purpose of which is to spread terror among the civilian population.” Similarly, Section 10.5.3.2 states, “Collective penalties and likewise all measures of intimidation or of terrorism are prohibited.”

There can be no doubt that these statements violate this core rule. In an effort to reduce the resistance to his proposals by the Iranian regime, the President threatened to eliminate or immiserate Iran’s entire civilian population – to “bring them back to the Stone Ages,” to cause “a whole civilization [to] die . . . never to be brought back again.” This is intimidation and it is the epitome of terrorism.

Moreover, because the complete destruction of a long-established civilization, its infrastructure, and its people may not be able to be achieved with a conventional bombing campaign in a matter of two or three weeks, the President’s threats may mean that the President was threatening to use nuclear weapons. Even an implicit threat to use nuclear force would be entirely unjustified and dangerous.

There may be a genuine debate as to whether the United States can or should try to impose its moral standards on the rest of the world. But where there is an established international legal consensus on the minimum requirements for a nation’s lawful conduct, our nation must also meet those standards. Our foundational commitment to the rule of law and to fundamental human rights demands at least that much from our nation, its military, and its leaders.

Here, the rule is clear – no nation may seek a negotiating advantage over another nation by threatening to indiscriminately murder or impoverish that other nation’s civilians. Our President has broken that rule. Members of the military, all of whom are expected to adhere to the West Point motto, Duty, Honor, Country, would be legally obligated to disobey any orders to engage in such illegal activity.

About the New York County Lawyers Association
The New York County Lawyers Association (www.nycla.org) was founded in 1908 as one of the first major bar associations in the country that admitted members without regard to race, ethnicity, religion, or gender. Since its inception, it has pioneered some of the most far-reaching and tangible reforms in American jurisprudence and has continuously played an active role in legal developments and public policy.