IL BOMBARDAMENTO DELLA SEDE DELLA MISSIONE DIPLOMATICA IRANIANA A DAMASCO E LO JUS AD BELLUM

On April 1, 2024, the Israeli armed forces carried out an airstrike on the premises of the Iranian embassy in Syria and killed some high-ranking military officials. Subsequently, on April 13, Iran declared itself as the victim of an « armed attack » and, invoking Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, retaliated against Israel with a precision strike using missiles and drones in Operation « True Promise ». This article aims to address the concept of armed attack, which remains one of the most contentious aspects of the legal framework governing the use of force in international law. A thorough analysis of statements from third States and the relevant precedents indicate that the claim of self-defence presented by victim States in response to attacks on diplomatic premises does not receive unanimous approval within the international community. This lack of consensus may be attributed to the absence of a widely accepted understanding as to whether diplomatic premises can constitute the target of an armed attack under Article 51 of the Charter.