Is this the end of international law? This episode of The Civic Podcast tackles the contentious debate surrounding “Operation Rising Lion”, Israel’s recent strikes on Iran’s nuclear and military infrastructure. Is international law keeping pace with modern conflicts, or are we witnessing its unravelling?
Host Markus Wagner is joined by Professor Yuval Shany, former Chair of the United Nations Human Rights Committee, to dissect the complex international legal questions involved. While many scholars deem the operation an unlawful preventive action, Professor Shany argues it represents an escalation within an ongoing armed conflict.
The conversation explores the tension between the UN Charter’s prohibition on the use of force and the right of self-defense, the slippery concept of “imminence” in the face of modern weaponry, and the challenges of proxy warfare. This discussion delves into one of the most significant legal debates on self-defense since the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
Whether you’re a legal scholar or just curious about the headlines, this conversation will leave you questioning where the law ends – and politics begin.
Sources
Amichai Cohen and Yuval Shany, A New War or a New Stage in an Ongoing War – Observations on June 13 Israeli Attack against Iran, Just Security, 15 June 2025,
https://www.justsecurity.org/114641/i…
Adil Ahmad Haque, Indefensible: Israel’s Unlawful Attack on Iran, Just Security, 19 June 2025, https://www.justsecurity.org/115010/i…
IAEA, Verification and monitoring in the Islamic Republic of Iran in light of United Nations Security Council resolution 2231 (2015), 31 May 2025, https://www.iaea.org/sites/default/fi…
Israel Defense Forces, X.com, 13 June 2025, https://x.com/IDF/status/193332459547…
Marko Milanovic, Is Israel’s Use of Force Against Iran Justified by Self-Defence?, EJIL:Talk!, 13 June 2025, https://www.ejiltalk.org/is-israels-u…
Marko Milanovic, The Illegal Israeli-American Use of Force Against Iran: A Follow-Up, EJIL:Talk!, 23 June 2025, https://www.ejiltalk.org/the-illegal-…
Brianna Rosen, Tess Bridgeman and Nima Gerami, The Day After U.S. Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Program: A Policy and Legal Assessment, Just Security, 22 June 2025, https://www.justsecurity.org/115234/p…
Gideon Sa’ar, FM Sa’ar sends letter to the UN Security Council on ‘Operation Rising Lion’ to remove the Iranian threat of elimination against Israel, 17 June 2025, https://www.gov.il/en/pages/fm-sa-ar-…
Leonard S. Spector and Avner Cohen, Israel’s Airstrike on Syria’s Reactor: Implications for the Nonproliferation Regime, Arms Control Today 38 6/2008, 15–21, http://www.jstor.org/stable/23628417
Matthew C. Waxman, The Caroline Affair in the Evolving International Law of Self-Defense, Lawfare 2018, https://scholarship.law.columbia.edu/…
Bios
Markus Wagner is Professor of Law at the University of Wollongong, Australia and has advised the private sector, governments and international organizations. An award-winning instructor, his academic work and consulting are focused on the intersections of international trade law and governance, and international peace and security, as well as US and Australian constitutional law. Professor Wagner is a sought after commentator on TV, radio and other news outlets.
Professor Yuval Shany is the Hersch Lauterpacht Chair in International Law and former Dean of the Law Faculty of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He also currently serves as a Senior Research Fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute, Visiting Professor in the Center for Transnational Legal Studies at King’s College, London and Research Fellow at the Ethics in AI Institute in Oxford. He was a member of the UN Human Rights Committee between 2013-2020 (chairing the Committee between 2018-2019).