The US move to end its membership and participation in the United Nations Human Rights Council stems from Trump’s illusory unilateralism and Washington’s attempt to project exclusive US power, free from any dependence on international institutions or the rules of international law. The US State Department has accused the council of promoting what it calls “anti-American rhetoric” and of appeasing regimes accused of suppressing their people. The decision comes as human rights organizations have characterized US attacks on the Minab school, Lamerd and a wedding ceremony in Sirik as war crimes. From this perspective, Washington’s withdrawal should be viewed as an attempt to evade punishment for its own crimes and as another step toward weakening international institutions, a trend that makes the need for the world to move toward a more just order and confront US unilateralism increasingly evident.
Crimes That Cannot Be Erased by Narrative-Building and Whitewashing
The timing of the US withdrawal from the Human Rights Council, alongside growing international criticism of the country’s war crimes against the Iranian people, is significant. Recently, some international and human rights organizations have described US attacks on the Minab school, Lamerd and a wedding ceremony in Sirik as war crimes. World public opinion has also accused the US of genocide and crimes against humanity over its military aggression against Iran. At the same time, Trump’s failure to achieve his stated objectives, including destroying and controlling Iran and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, has generated widespread dissatisfaction inside the US, with 70 percent of the public opposing his policies. Rising military and economic costs and damage to the global credibility of the US, a country that once portrayed itself as the savior of nations, have fueled growing global demands for the prosecution of leaders in the White House and the Israeli regime, a demand that had already manifested itself in the International Criminal Court’s issuance of an arrest warrant for Netanyahu.
Undermining International Institutions: A Strategy for Escaping Justice
The US effort to reject the UN fact-finding committee’s report on the Minab and Lamerd crimes and to use media narratives to whitewash those crimes is part of a strategy to evade responsibility. Bloomberg’s claim that the attack on the Minab school resulted from outdated intelligence and excessive reliance on artificial intelligence can be examined within this framework. Nevertheless, the range of allegations raised, from the bombing of nuclear facilities, schools and medical centers to the deliberate killing of civilians, economic terrorism in the pharmaceutical sector and attacks on infrastructure, requires independent and documented investigation.
The experience of Afghanistan, Iraq and Gaza shows that promises of internal investigations into crimes, without guarantees of independence and transparency, can become a tool for buying time, normalizing crimes and evading punishment. The US withdrawal from the Human Rights Council and the imposition of sanctions on the International Criminal Court and Amnesty International, alongside Washington’s other unilateral measures, point to an effort to weaken the global legal architecture.
Iran’s Responsibility and the Need for a New Multilateral Order
Under these circumstances, the judicial system of the Islamic Republic of Iran should, drawing on domestic legal capacities and its record of prosecuting crimes committed by terrorist groups, take the necessary measures to initiate legal proceedings, document and pursue the crimes committed by the US and the Israeli regime. This process can be pursued through two separate channels: domestic legal action and cooperation and coordination with friendly and justice-seeking countries.
Despite Trump’s claims, the US has faced challenges in building global consensus around its objectives. Many of its NATO allies, for instance, have not participated extensively in the war against Iran, while Washington’s actions at the Board of Governors and the UN Security Council have also faced opposition from Russia and China. Under these circumstances, independent countries that support international law, particularly Iran, China and Russia, can strengthen multilateral cooperation to help reform global structures and establish effective mechanisms for holding those responsible for crimes accountable. Iran’s resistance against the US and developments during the 12-day and Ramadan wars have underscored the need for a more just international order, one in which the prosecution of the leaders of the US and the Israeli regime, within the framework of law and justice, becomes a global demand.