A Call for Peace as War Reaches Iran

Jorge Filmus

/ IDF Spokesperson's Unit

This article is published in the Science for Peace March newsletter, which can be viewed here.

On February 28, the United States and Israel launched a coordinated attack against Iran. In the first 10 days of this brutal war, more than 1300 Iranians have been killed and more than 17,000 have been injured. The fatal victims include at least 193 children, about 100 of them from a girl’s elementary school that was hit by a US Tomahawk missile. Bombardment targets have included desalination plants, oil refineries and historical cultural sites. This disregard for human life and civilian infrastructure is not an accident. The United States “War” Secretary Peter Hegseth has proclaimed that “there are no rules of engagement”, and that the prime objectives are “death and destruction”.

Since the beginning of the war Trump has been constantly changing its justification. One of the most frequent justifications that he uses is “to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons”. However, during his first presidency Trump withdrew the United States participation in the JCPOA, a multilateral treaty signed by Iran, Russia, China, the EU, and the United States. This treaty imposed strict limits on Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions against Iran. The JCPOA gave the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) extensive inspection rights, including monitoring nuclear facilities and supply chains. Until the US withdrawal, the IAEA had verified that Iran was abiding by the restrictions imposed by the Treaty.

Even after the cancelation of the JCPOA by the US, no convincing evidence has been provided showing that Iran was pursuing a nuclear weapon.   In 2025 the US Director of National Intelligence testified in Congress that Iran was not actively building a bomb. A similar statement was made by the International Atomic Energy Agency last year. Furthermore, according to Trump, the Iranian nuclear facilities were completely “obliterated” during the bombardment on June 2025. Finally, the Omani mediator of the US-Iran negotiations, Foreign Minister Badr Al Busaidi, said hours before the US-Israel attack that “a peace deal was within reach” and that the Iranians had made unprecedent concessions regarding their nuclear program.

Another justification that Trump has offered at times for the war was the search for regime change in Iran. In some of his speeches and social media posts he said that the United States “stands with the Iranian people” and that Iranians should “take back your country”. There is no question that many Iranians would like to get rid off their theocratic and repressive government. But there are no precedents of regime changes produced by indiscriminate bombardment by another country. If anything, this type of indiscriminate attack helps to justify more repression by the threatened government.

Beyond these ever-changing false justifications, the war launched by the United States and Israel clearly represents a violation of international law. Particularly, it violates the sovereignty of Iran, contrary to Article 2(4) of the UN Charter which prohibits the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state. The only justification for the use of force by one country against another is an imminent threat of aggression, which is clearly not the case here. Iran did not represent a threat to the national security of the United States.

Immediately after the US-Israel attack on Iran, our Liberal government offered a full support to it with no caveats, conditions or even a mention of international law. Furthermore, at one-point Prime Minister Carney said he could not rule out Canadian military involvement is support of the US/Israel war against Iran. However, a strong reaction from the public and even from his own caucus has forced the government to backtrack from its initial position. On March 10, Carney stated that Canada “will never participate” in the war.

Science for Peace urges the government to condemn the war launched by US and Israel against Iran, and to explicitly recognize that it violates international law. Canada should also demand an immediate ceasefire and a return to diplomatic negotiations.

Jorge Filmus is President of Science for Peace.