Multi-layered Criminality in the 2026 Iran-U.S./Israel War


AKDUMAN D., Akinci A.

Insight Turkey, cilt.28, sa.2, ss.99-113, 2026 (ESCI, Scopus)

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 28 Sayı: 2
  • Basım Tarihi: 2026
  • Doi Numarası: 10.25253/99.2026282.8
  • Dergi Adı: Insight Turkey
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), Scopus, IBZ Online, ABI/INFORM, Index Islamicus, MLA - Modern Language Association Database, Political Science Complete, vLex, MLA International Bibliography, Political Science Abstract (IPSA), Academic Search Ultimate (EBSCO), Social Science Premium Collection (ProQuest), Political Science Database (ProQuest)
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.99-113
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: Aggression, War Crimes, Crimes against Humanity, Self-Defense, Multi-layered Criminality
  • Sağlık Bilimleri Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Contemporary armed conflicts increasingly defy analysis within a single legal framework. This article advances the concept of multi-layered criminality to explain how one factual matrix may simultaneously engage the law on the use of force, international hu­manitarian law, and international criminal law. Focusing on the 2026 U.S.-Israeli operations against Iran, it demonstrates how alle­gations of aggression, war crimes, and crimes against humanity can arise concurrently without collapsing their distinct legal thresholds. Drawing on treaty law, jurisprudence, official statements, United Nations materials, and open-source investigations, the commentary offers a calibrated appraisal of an evolving evidentiary record. It ar­gues that the available material raises a serious question regarding the legality of the resort to force, substantiates grave war-crime con­cerns, and justifies a structured –yet not definitive– Article 7 inquiry. By integrating doctrinal rigor with cumulative analysis, the article challenges both fragmentation and overextension in contemporary international criminal law.