If such lawlessness as using military force to eliminate a head of state who does not bow to one’s will is allowed, the order of the international community, where sovereign nations coexist as equals, cannot be maintained.

The United States and Israel attacked Iran in a joint operation, killing Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the nation's supreme leader. A power vacuum could arise in the resource-rich nation of 90 million people, which has a landmass four times the size of Japan.

If the Middle East, often described as a powder keg, becomes destabilized, the future of global security and the economy will be unpredictable. The international community must make every possible effort to de-escalate the situation.

U.S. President Donald Trump claimed that Iran's long-range missiles posed an imminent threat. However, U.S. intelligence agencies were reportedly cautious in their assessment that the missiles could strike the U.S. mainland.

A pre-emptive strike is a preventive war measure that exceeds the scope of self-defense. The U.N. Charter limits the resolution of disputes through military force to instances of self-defense in response to an attack or when authorized by the U.N. Security Council. This attack meets neither of those requirements.

Following Israel's attack on Iran last June, this marks another instance of military force being used in the midst of diplomatic negotiations. The foreign minister of Oman, who was mediating between the United States and Iran, had assessed that great progress had been made, and a meeting of experts was scheduled to begin on March 2.

Trump had stated that the negotiations were seeking to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, but after the attack, he urged the Iranian people to take back their government, calling for regime change.

This makes it difficult to see the talks as anything but a stalling tactic to buy time for the U.S. military to deploy its forces in the Middle East.

If agreements reached at the negotiating table can be overturned by force in the end, trust in dialogue with the United States will be undermined. The actions of a major power that disregards the rule of law could give other countries a pretext for using military force or developing nuclear weapons.

In Iran, from the end of last year to January of this year, demonstrations criticizing the regime, sparked by economic hardship, spread throughout the country. It is reported that several thousands of protesters were killed in the crackdown by security authorities.

The United States and Israel undoubtedly saw this as an opportunity to weaken the regime. Iran's suppression of human rights is by no means acceptable. However, even if the government were to be overthrown by foreign military intervention, it would only lead to continued chaos.

Iraq, after the United States and Britain toppled Saddam Hussein's regime, descended into a quagmire, where more than 100,000 civilians and nearly 5,000 U.S. soldiers were killed.

In Libya, where the Gaddafi regime collapsed after NATO airstrikes, the country was split between east and west, descending into a civil war that rages to this day. We must learn from the lessons of history.

Iran has retaliated by attacking Israel as well as U.S. military bases in the Gulf Arab states, and tensions in the Persian Gulf are rising. There are also concerns that pro-Iranian armed groups in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen and other countries may join the conflict.

It is imperative to prevent the conflict from escalating into a war that engulfs the entire region and to bring it to a resolution as quickly as possible.

The Strait of Hormuz, at the entrance to the Persian Gulf, is a vital chokepoint that handles about a quarter of the world's maritime oil transports. Due to the exchange of attacks, the passage of ships has effectively stopped.

If this situation persists, it will deal a major blow to the global economy, including a surge in crude oil prices.

Japan, which depends on the Middle East for more than 90 percent of its crude oil, cannot escape the impact. Although Japan has about 240 days' worth of oil reserves, a rise in gasoline prices is also a concern. Calm, forward-looking measures are required.

A negative impact on the peace process in the Gaza Strip in the Palestinian territories, where a fragile cease-fire continues, is also expected.

The Group of Seven nations, other than the United States, are not participating in the Board of Peace, which is responsible for the interim governance of Gaza. This is due to suspicions that Trump, who chairs it, has ambitions to make it an institution that replaces the United Nations.

With Trump's latest actions that ignore the United Nations and international law, other countries will likely become even more hesitant. It is inevitable that the Middle Eastern and Islamic nations that form the core of the board will react against Israel's self-righteousness. The board is at risk of becoming dysfunctional.

THE RULE OF LAW AT RISK

This year began with an outrageous act by the United States, which relies on force. The U.S. military conducted a military operation in the South American country of Venezuela, detaining the president and his wife and taking them to the United States.

Less than two months later, it has now killed a head of state in the Middle East.

We must not return to a world where the strong prey on the weak, where order based on law is destroyed by force. The international community must recognize the gravity of this crisis.

However, the responses from various countries are divided. Britain stated that it does not want an escalation of the conflict, while France called for a solution through negotiations. The EU appealed for compliance with international humanitarian law.

On the other hand, it is extremely disappointing that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced his support for the United States. Did he not just point out the decline of the rules-based international order and call for the solidarity of middle power countries to counter the arrogance of great powers?

Japan is an ally of the United States, yet it is in a unique position of also maintaining long-standing friendly relations with Iran.

During the first term of the Trump administration, then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met with Khamenei to ease tensions. Japan must focus on protecting its nationals, but it cannot abandon its diplomatic duty to help end the war.

--The Asahi Shimbun, March 2

© The Asahi Shimbun