As the United States and Iran move into negotiations over a permanent end to the war, a Jerusalem-based legal NGO is urging international bodies to keep criminal accountability on the agenda.
The Jerusalem Institute of Justice (JIJ) has published a report arguing that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ missile and drone campaign against Israel and other states in the region should be examined as a potential series of war crimes.
The JIJ called on the International Criminal Court, UN mechanisms, and European prosecutors to assess individual responsibility within the Iranian command structure.
The report covers the period from February 28 through early April. It alleges that Iran fired more than 2,300 missiles and 5,350 UAVs at Israel and neighboring states, including the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iraqi Kurdistan, Qatar, Oman, Cyprus, and Turkey.
Those figures are the organization’s own compilation, drawn from what it describes as open-source reporting, official releases, and an internal database. The report also acknowledges that battlefield attribution, casualty reporting, and the distinction between direct impacts and interception debris remain incomplete in several of the countries it examined.
Regarding Israel, the JIJ said Iran had launched 650 missiles and at least 479 separate barrages, including cluster-capable weapons. The scale and design of the attacks – particularly high-volume salvos intended to strain air-defense systems – indicate an unlawful strategy of indiscriminate fire and the terrorization of civilians, rather than solely attacks on military targets, it said.
Prosecution through either ICC or universal-jurisdiction countries could be on the table
The campaign left at least 20 people dead and more than 7,000 wounded in Israel, while causing widespread disruption to schools, air travel, workplaces, and civilian infrastructure, the report said. It did not assess the legality of the US-Israeli airstrikes on Iran that preceded the Iranian campaign, which Tehran has described as unlawful.
The legal argument rests on two routes. First, JIJ argues that missile debris and alleged airspace violations in Jordan and Cyprus could allow the ICC to examine the broader campaign, because both are parties to the Rome Statute.
Second, it cites universal-jurisdiction laws in Germany, France, and Sweden as possible avenues for domestic investigations into war crimes.
Those are legal arguments, not existing proceedings. Any ICC examination would require the prosecutor and court to determine that the alleged conduct falls within the court’s jurisdiction and meets the evidentiary and legal thresholds for a case.
“We are not asking for another toothless UN condemnation, nor will we accept a diplomatic agreement that grants amnesty for war crimes,” JIJ CEO Flavia Sevald said.
The JIJ initially said it had sent its evidentiary record to European parliamentarians. Asked by The Jerusalem Post about its broader distribution, the JIJ said the report had also been sent to UN mandate holders and other relevant UN mechanisms in Geneva and New York, as well as diplomatic missions and officials in about 20 countries.
The JIJ said it hoped the material would support formal condemnation of Iran, demands for accountability, possible ICC arrest warrants, universal-jurisdiction proceedings, and efforts to prevent Iran from holding leadership or membership roles in UN bodies.
The push comes as Washington and Tehran pursue a 60-day process toward a final agreement, after signing an interim memorandum of understanding that addresses the end of hostilities, shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, sanctions, frozen Iranian assets, and Iran’s nuclear program.
Israel is not a party to the US-Iran negotiations, which have also been tied to efforts to halt fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.