Military intervention would violate international law and undermine Iranians' fight for freedom
(Washington, D.C., January 15, 2026) — The U.S. government should halt its stated plan to take military action against the Iranian government, an unlawful use of force without authorization from Congress or the United Nations Security Council, said DAWN today. The United Nations and other multilateral institutions should launch an impartial investigation into the recent violence in Iran, and hold perpetrators accountable in accordance with international law.
"The best thing the United States can do to support the Iranian people's movement for freedom is stay out of it. This is the Iranian people's fight. It will not survive U.S. intervention," said Sarah Leah Whitson, DAWN's executive director. "The U.S. government's record of catastrophic military interventions in the region alongside ongoing military support for regimes that have killed tens of thousands of protesters in their own countries means the U.S. has no credibility to intervene in any way."
Since December 28, 2025, protests have erupted throughout Iran, initially focused on inflation and the collapse of Iran's currency against the dollar, but quickly turned to political demands against the government, including calls for regime change in Iran. Decades of increasingly harsh U.S. sanctions against Iran have had a crippling effect on the country's economy.
On January 9, 2026, Iranian authorities imposed a nationwide shutdown of internet and mobile communications, cutting off Iranians from the outside world and severely restricting the flow of information. This ongoing blackout has made independent verification of information extremely difficult, but multiple sources are reporting a staggering death toll from the past days of nationwide protests. Iran Human Rights, a Norway-based organization headquartered in Oslo, has reported that thousands of Iranians may have been killed and that many more have been injured since the demonstrations began. The Iranian government has claimed that some protests turned violent with armed protesters attacking security forces, and that foreign actors are involved in arming demonstrators. These claims have not been independently verified and should also be investigated by the UN and other multilateral bodies as part of a comprehensive, impartial inquiry.
The international community should urgently press Iran to restore connectivity, demand an end to the violence, and support independent investigations to preserve evidence and ensure justice.
"The Iranian government has acted with horrible brutality against its own citizens, and those responsible must be held accountable in accordance with international law," said Omid Memarian, Communications Director and Iran analyst at DAWN. "The UN Human Rights Council should urgently convene a special session, renew and expand the mandate of the independent investigative mechanism on Iran, and ensure that evidence of killings, torture, and enforced disappearances is preserved for future prosecutions."
President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to launch a war against Iran if security forces kill peaceful protesters or if any of the detained protesters are executed.
"The United States has no legal or moral authority to bomb Iran. The most likely result of U.S. military intervention in Iran will be the endless war, conflict and destruction we've seen in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen," said Raed Jarrar, DAWN's advocacy director. "The U.S. has just carried out a lawless invasion of Venezuela and continues to aid and abet genocide in Palestine, so the notion that it will bring exceptional, unique help for Iran is farcical."
