Retired military officers and legal experts have raised alarms over Donald Trump's recent threats against Iran, calling them 'likely war crimes.' In a Tuesday morning post on Truth Social, Trump warned that 'a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again' if Iran did not meet his demands. The comments follow a weekend tirade in which he called the Iranian regime 'crazy bastards' and demanded an end to oil blockades in the Strait of Hormuz.
Retired Admiral Michael Smith, who commanded a US Navy carrier strike group, said he hoped the threats were bluster but warned that such statements themselves could constitute war crimes. 'He must understand that those types of threats themselves are likely war crimes,' Smith said. He noted that while earlier threats against bridges and power plants might have had military utility, the latest comments have no legal standing.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Trump dismissed concerns about war crimes, saying he was 'not at all' worried. He refused to rule out targeting civilians and reiterated his threat to destroy Iran's infrastructure if Tehran did not comply by Tuesday. Gary Corn, a retired Army staff attorney and national security law professor, said Congress has incrementally surrendered its war powers, and recent failed efforts to require congressional approval for military action against Iran could be seen as implicit endorsement.
Retired Army General Shawn Harris, running for Congress, said the threat to kill a 'civilization' implies the use of nuclear weapons. He noted that the firing of three generals by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last week may indicate internal pushback against Trump's war plans. 'I think what he's basically saying is he's going to follow through on his plans,' Harris said, adding that Iran is 'no pushover.'
Naveed Shah, political director of the veterans group Common Defense, called Trump's rhetoric 'unhinged' and warned it puts US troops in greater danger. Senator Elissa Slotkin, a Democrat and former defense official, said targeting civilians en masse would violate the Geneva Conventions and the Pentagon's Law of War Manual. 'This kind of focus on civilians is exactly what we accuse our adversaries of doing,' she said.
