Legal war against war crimes

Ayatollah Khamenei said regarding the recent events in the region: “The enemy has not won in Gaza; the enemy has not won in Lebanon; the enemy will not win in Gaza and Lebanon. What they did is not a victory, it is a war crime; well, they issued an arrest warrant, [but] it is not enough; Netanyahu’s death sentence, the death sentence of these criminal leaders, must be issued.”

On this occasion, KHAMENEI.IR media outlet has examined the importance of the International Criminal Court’s ruling against the Zionist regime and the prospects of this legal war against this regime in an interview with Dr. Kazem Gharibabadi, Deputy Minister of Legal and International Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

What is your assessment of the verdict issued by the International Criminal Court against two of the criminal leaders of the Zionist regime? International organizations typically operate sporadically and are essentially shut down when they get to the Zionist regime. What led to this decision?

First, we must see what factors caused an international court called the “International Criminal Court,” contrary to its previous practices, to be unable to ignore this crime. The scale of the crimes committed by the Zionist regime, especially since October 7th, is very extensive. Every crime that falls within the jurisdiction of international criminal law has been committed by the Zionist regime in Gaza and recently in Lebanon: war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, and ethnic and racial cleansing; they have committed all of these crimes. So far, more than 150,000 people in Gaza have been either martyred or injured, two-thirds of whom are women and children. Also, more than several hundred thousand residential buildings and infrastructure, such as medical centers, educational centers, and places of worship belonging to all religious groups, have been destroyed by the Zionist regime. Tens of thousands of tons of bombs have been dropped on innocent people in Gaza. This is an unprecedented number of crimes, especially for a small area. More than one and a half million people in the Gaza Strip have been internally displaced, and some of them have become refugees in other countries. No one can remain silent about this number of crimes.

Before the ICC ruling, we witnessed how a case brought by South Africa under the Genocide Convention at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, supported by some other countries, resulted in an interim order from the ICJ. Now, after the ICJ, the ICC is the second international court to issue an arrest warrant for these two criminal officials of the Zionist regime.

Will the execution of the sentence be left to the member states of the ICC?

Yes, so far, most countries have announced that if these two criminals travel to their territory, they will arrest them, and this is a positive point. Many have announced this, except for one or two countries; even Germany had first said that I will not arrest or execute, then another news came that the Germans have also said that they respect the ruling of the International Criminal Court.

The Leader of the Revolution said that this arrest warrant for the criminal leaders is not enough and that they should be sentenced to death. Is there any prospect that this warrant will be issued for these criminals one day?

In my opinion, this is not impossible. If an attempt is made, it is possible; because we are not witnessing any fair court to investigate the crimes of the Zionist regime and its criminal officials. The International Criminal Court has only issued an arrest warrant, which is the most basic action of a judicial authority. When crimes are widespread, a person is arrested so that he is at the disposal of the judicial authority and security officer so that further investigations can be conducted until the trial in court. Therefore, a court has not yet been formed to investigate the crimes of the criminal officials of the Zionist regime. We must try to see if it is possible to form a court consisting of two or three like-minded countries that support the Palestinian people. Within the framework of that court, such sentences will definitely be able to be issued.

Since October 7, 2023, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution has repeatedly emphasized that the crimes of the Zionist regime must be pursued legally. Has our country, whether in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or in other departments, done anything in this regard?

Yes, this is a very important point. Legal documentation with the aim of pursuing them in the courts has been the concern of various institutions in the Islamic Republic of Iran - both governmental and non-governmental - since the beginning of the new era of the crimes of the Zionist regime; several paths have been envisaged and various meetings have been held at various domestic levels.

Is there a particular institution or organization involved in these coordination efforts?

Yes, joint meetings have been held dozens of times in the legal field. These meetings have been held with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and some other agencies as the main focus. One of the paths that has been identified is to file a lawsuit in our own national courts. We have filed a case in the Tehran Prosecutor’s Office to investigate the crimes of the Zionist regime’s officials.

The second path is the national courts of other countries, especially those that recognize the principle of universal jurisdiction. This includes crimes that fall under the category of international criminal crimes, such as crimes against humanity, genocide, war crimes, and the crime of aggression; these four crimes fall under the jurisdiction of international criminal law.

The third path is international courts, which include the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court. Cases have been filed in both courts. For example, South Africa has filed a lawsuit under the Genocide Convention, and a large amount of research and documentation has been referred to the International Criminal Court regarding the crimes of the Zionist regime, which has led to the issuance of arrest warrants for two criminal officials. Therefore, all these legal channels have been activated, and this is unprecedented; we have never witnessed such a legal war against the Zionist regime.