US attack on Iran not in line with international law: Norwegian premier

ATHENS

The US attack on Iranian nuclear sites does not comply with international law, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said Monday.

Speaking to Norway’s NTB news agency, Gahr Store said: “It is not in line with international law to carry out such an attack.”

He added that the strike has further complicated the situation in the Middle East and left the UN Security Council effectively paralyzed.

Expressing concern about the potential for further escalation, Gahr Store said: “It is regrettable that the work to find a diplomatic solution and a new nuclear agreement with Iran has not progressed.”

Gahr Store also addressed whether the US strike could be justified as an act of self-defense. “International law provides the right to self-defense, but it is debatable whether this falls into the category of self-defense for the US.”

“This conflict has no military solution. International law must be respected by all parties, including in this war. The latest attack does not remove the need for a lasting agreement in the long term, even if it becomes even more demanding now,” he concluded.

On Sunday, US President Donald Trump said American forces bombed Iran’s Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan nuclear sites.

The US deployed six B-2 bombers to drop 12 bunker-buster bombs on the Fordo facility, while two were dropped on Natanz, along with dozens of submarine-launched cruise missiles targeting Natanz and Isfahan.

The attacks marked a sharp escalation in a US-backed Israeli military campaign against Iran that began on June 13, prompting retaliatory Iranian missile strikes on Israel.

Israeli authorities said at least 25 people have been killed and hundreds injured from Iranian missile attacks.

In Iran, at least 430 people have been killed and more than 3,500 wounded in the Israeli assault, according to the Iranian Health Ministry.