Former IAEA chief ElBaradei condemns war on Iran as illegal, hypocritical

Mohamed ElBaradei, former Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has denounced the ongoing military campaign against Iran by the United States and Israel as a “war of aggression” and a “violation of the UN Charter and the basic tenets of international law.”

In a strongly worded series of posts on X, ElBaradei criticised the strikes, launched by Israel on June 13 and escalated with US involvement on June 22, as taking place in the absence of any imminent threat or credible evidence from international inspection bodies or intelligence agencies of an active Iranian military nuclear programme.

Describing the situation as a repeat of the “catastrophic war on Iraq,” ElBaradei recalled how the 2003 invasion was similarly justified by misleading claims about weapons of mass destruction, despite contrary findings by UN inspectors. He warned that the war on Iran could have devastating consequences for regional stability and global peace.

The former Egyptian vice-president, whose country remains a key strategic US ally, served as the IAEA chief from 1997 to 2009. He accused the warring powers, both nuclear-armed, one of which remains outside the global nuclear arms control regime, of severely undermining the international order and the credibility of institutions such as the UN and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

“The war is taking place against the backdrop of a total paralysis of the UN Security Council,” ElBaradei wrote on X, “and obscene double standards by those who trumpet a rules-based international system.”

https://x.com/ElBaradei/status/1936735085723537678

On June 22, the US deployed bunker-buster bombs to strike Iranian nuclear sites, claiming that Tehran was very close to developing nuclear weapons. But ElBaradei, who spent decades advocating for peaceful nuclear oversight, rejected the legitimacy of such claims in the absence of verifiable proof.

He lamented what he called the collapse of norms surrounding the use of force, noting: “As someone who has spent his entire career in politics, an international lawyer, and a human being who cares deeply about peace, human dignity, and the legacy we leave our grandchildren, I am heartbroken to witness the vicious destruction of all the rules on the non-use of force… rules that were painstakingly established over many decades to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.”

ElBaradei warned of a return to the age of “might is right,” calling out what he sees as flagrant hypocrisy by the US, Israel, and European countries. With biting sarcasm, he referred to them as “the greatest democracies on earth,” adding with the hashtag #shame: “Humanity is so proud of you. You are setting a great example of respect for the sanctity of human life and international humanitarian law.”

In closing, he offered a sombre reflection: “All I can do is remind those ‘small’ men and women that they might win a battle or two—but humanity will eventually lose the war.”

Americadirector generalDonald TrumpformerIAEAIran-Israel conflictMohamed ElBaradeiWeb Exclusive