More than a week after the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran, the conflict has escalated into a multi-front war.

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Australians should ask what this crisis reveals about the credibility of the "rules-based international order" the Australian government says it defends.

The US and Israel justify the campaign as "pre-emptive self-defence" to prevent Iran acquiring nuclear weapons, degrade its missile and drone capabilities, suppress air defences, disrupt command structures, and induce regime change.

Many Australians share concerns over Iran's authoritarian regime under the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, killed in the initial strikes along with senior IRGC commanders and officials.

Yet the UN Charter authorises force only with Security Council approval or in response to an actual or imminent armed attack. Preventive strikes based on future threats are widely regarded as unlawful under the Charter. The US-Israeli operations - involving thousands of strikes on military, nuclear-related, leadership, and security sites - were unauthorised and not strictly defensive at the outset. This erodes the legal framework further. Australians should hesitate to accept such precedents simply because they involve our closest ally.

Civilian casualties and damage to non-military sites have risen sharply. Iranian authorities report more than 1200 killed and hundreds injured, with strikes hitting residential areas, government buildings, a sports stadium, an all-girls school reportedly causing significant student deaths, and broadcasting facilities. In Israel, Iranian missile strikes have killed civilians and injured hundreds more. Gulf states have also reported casualties. These incidents require serious investigation under the laws of armed conflict, particularly regarding proportionality and targeting.

A rule permitting Washington and Jerusalem to strike perceived future threats logically allows Beijing, Moscow or others to do the same. For middle powers like Australia, dependent on international law to balance great-power dominance,........

© Canberra Times