IUS AD BELLUM AND THE BOMBING OF A DIPLOMATIC HEADQUARTERS: THE CASE OF IRAN IN DAMASCUS

Abstract: On 13 April 2024 Iran declared that was victim of an armed attack on its embassy in Syria by Israeli forces that killed military officials. As a consequence of this, Iran invoked Art. 51 of the UN Charter to make use of missiles of high precision and drones (in the operation: “True promise”) against Israel. Based on the above facts, the present paper seeks to analyze the concept of armed attack, that is, one of the most contentious aspects of the legal framework governing the use of force in international law. For doing this, we make use of similar cases from the past, of the jurisprudence of the International Court of Justice, of statements from third states and of relevant precedents, that indicate the right of self-defense presented by victim states, as a response to attacks on diplomatic premises, which do not receive and approve the unanimous opinions of the international community. The lack of consensus had attributed to the absence of understanding, as a diplomatic premises to constitute a target of an armed attack under Art. 51 of the UN Charter.