Has the United States Violated the Law of Armed Conflict in the Iran War?

Host Ryan Goodman is joined by Tom Dannenbaum, Margaret Donovan, and Todd Huntley to discuss whether the United States has violated the law of armed conflict in its conduct of the Iran war. They discuss what evidence would be required to make that determination and what to watch for as the war continues. Show Notes:Collection: Iran, Israel and the United States at War (2025-2026 Operations) (continually updated)Mark Nevitt, Five “Blockades” and One Legal Problem: Naval Enforcement in the U.S.–Iran Conflict (May 1, 2026)Tess Bridgeman and Oona A. Hathaway, At the 60-Day Mark, the Iran War is Triply IllegalBrian Finucane, On the State Department Memorandum “Operation Epic Fury and International Law” (April 24, 2026)Michael Schmitt, Tess Bridgeman and Ryan Goodman, On Ambassador Waltz’s Defense of Potential Law of War Violations in the Iran Conflict (April 22, 2026)Tom Dannenbaum, Rebecca Hamilton, Adil Ahmad Haque, Oona A. Hathaway and Gabor Rona, Over 100 International Law Experts Warn: U.S. Strikes on Iran Violate UN Charter and May Be War Crimes (April 13, 2026)Margaret Donovan and Rachel VanLandingham, Lt Col, USAF (Ret.), When War Crimes Rhetoric Becomes Battlefield Reality: The Slippery Slope to Total War on Iran (April 6, 2026)

Co-Hosts Tess Bridgeman and Rachel Goldbrenner are joined by Rebecca Ingber and Brian Finucane to discuss how the Trump administration’s campaign of lethal strikes against suspected drug traffickers in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific has escalated and evolved in the year since the strikes began. The conversation examines the administration’s legal justifications for the strikes, the potential for escalation to targets on land, and what the creation of Joint Task Force - Western Hemisphere could mean for the campaign’s future. This installment is part six of the “Murder on the High Seas” series, produced in collaboration with the Reiss Center on Law and Security. Show Notes:Just Security’s Collection: U.S. Lethal Strikes on Suspected Drug Traffickers, Operation Southern Spear, Operation Absolute Resolve   Jeremy Chin, Margaret Lin, and Aidan Arasasingham, Timeline of Boat Strikes and Related Actions (continually updated)Tess Bridgeman, Michael Schmitt, Ryan Goodman, and Brian Finucane, Key Questions on U.S. Killing Tren de Aragua Leader Inside Venezuela (June 15, 2026)Brian Finucane, “Did the United States just Bomb Ecuador?” (Mar. 13, 2026)Rebecca Ingber, The Trump Administration’s Theory of Constitutional War Powers: “The President Could Decide” (Mar. 2, 2026)  Edward Swaine, Can the U.S. Government Be Sued for Wrongful Death in a Caribbean Boat Strike? (Jan. 29, 2026)Tess Bridgeman and Brian Finucane, War Powers, Venezuela, Drug Boats, and Congress (Jan. 12, 2026) Tess Bridgeman, Michael Schmitt, and Ryan Goodman, Expert Q&A on U.S. Military Action in Venezuela and Boat Strikes (Jan. 6, 2026)Michael Schmitt, Marko Milanovic, The International Law Obligation to Investigate the Boat Strikes (Dec. 15, 2025)Mark Nevitt, The Law on Targeting Shipwrecked Drug Traffickers: Expert Backgrounder (Dec. 11, 2025)Michael Schmitt, Ryan Goodman and Tess Bridgeman, Operation Southern Spear: Why the Crews, Drugs, and Boats are Not Targetable (Dec. 7, 2025)Michael Schmitt, Ryan Goodman and Tess Bridgeman, Unlawful Orders and Killing Shipwrecked Boat Strike Survivors: An Expert Backgrounder (Dec. 1, 2025)Daniel Maurer, Hypothetical Legal Review of Narcotrafficking Strikes (Nov. 18, 2025)Michael Schmitt, Marko Milanovic, and Ryan Goodman, The International Law Obligation of States to Stop Intelligence Support for U.S. Boat Strikes (Nov. 17, 2025)Brian Finucane, Dissecting the Trump Administration’s Effort to Circumvent the War Powers Resolution for Boat Strikes (Nov. 3, 2025)Rebecca Ingber and Jessica Thibodeau, Expert Backgrounder on War Powers Resolution 60-Day Clock for Boat Strikes Expiring Monday (Oct. 31, 2025)Previously on “Murder on the High Seas”Tess Bridgeman, Rachel Goldbrenner, Rebecca Ingber, and Brian Finucane, The Just Security Podcast: Murder on the High Seas Part V (May 7, 2026)Tess Bridgeman, Rachel Goldbrenner, Rebecca Ingber, and Brian Finucane, The Just Security Podcast: Murder on the High Seas Part IV (Dec. 2, 2025)Tess Bridgeman, Brian Finucane, and Rebecca Ingber, The Just Security Podcast: Murder on the High Seas Part III  (Oct. 21, 2025, also available on YouTube)Tess Bridgeman, Brian Finucane, Rachel Goldbrenner, and Rebecca Ingber, The Just Security Podcast: Murder on the High Seas Part II — What We Know about U.S. Vessel Strikes One Month In (Oct. 7, 2025)Tess Bridgeman, Brian Finucane, and Rebecca Ingber, The Just Security Podcast: Murder on the High Seas? What You Need to Know about the U.S. Strike on the Caribbean Vessel (Sept. 9, 2025, also available on YouTube)

Host Dani Schulkin is joined by Steve Vladeck and Jess Dawgert to discuss the first-ever case before the Alien Terrorist Removal Court. They explain what the court is, why it sat unused for thirty years, and what its first case means for due process and the immigration system.Show Note (related articles and links): https://www.justsecurity.org/148285/the-alien-terrorist-removal-courts-first-case/ https://www.justsecurity.org/149897/alien-terrorist-removal-court-immigration/https://www.atrc.uscourts.gov/And for all of Just Security's coverage of immigration, see:https://www.justsecurity.org/tag/immigration/ 

Host Ryan Goodman is joined by guests Rebecca Hamilton and Alex Whiting, experts with deep experience in the practice and study of international criminal law, to discuss the recent vote by states to remove Karim Khan as Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, effective immediately, for sexual misconduct against a junior staff member. They discuss what this investigation – and its defense – has meant for the ICC as an institution and for its ongoing cases, and what comes next for the ICC and its members.Show Notes:https://www.justsecurity.org/149478/future-international-criminal-court/https://www.justsecurity.org/148713/icc-prosecutor-removal-vote/https://www.justsecurity.org/125682/new-icc-prosecutor-regardless-un-report/And for all of Just Security’s coverage of the ICC, see:https://www.justsecurity.org/tag/international-criminal-court/

A free and independent press has long been understood as a core element of healthy and secure democracies. Particularly in the realm of national security and foreign policy, news reporting and investigations are an integral source of information that enables the American public to evaluate the decisions of their elected officials. Yet today the press is facing new or newly acute challenges arising from the executive branch, Congress, and even the media industry itself—all unfolding against the backdrop of an already-siloed and mistrustful information landscape.What is it like to lead a newsroom and report on national security issues today? Which legal issues are top of mind for media and free speech lawyers and scholars? What are the most pressing challenges and opportunities? On May 18, the Reiss Center on Law and Security and Just Security convened a discussion with frontline experts to address these questions. Show Note: The Trump Administration's Use of State Power Against Media: Keeping Track of the Big Picture by Rebecca Hamilton Just Security’s Freedom of the Press Archive 

Over the past year, U.S. anti-corruption policy has undergone significant shifts — from changes in FCPA enforcement to sanctions rollbacks and institutional drawdowns — raising questions about America’s global role. At the same time, anti-corruption movements are gaining momentum worldwide. Dani Schulkin speaks with Richard Nephew and Bruce Swartz about what these trends mean for enforcement, international cooperation, and the future of the anti-corruption agenda.Show Note:  Three Lessons from the Intersection of Sanctions and Corruption by Richard Nephew (May 13, 2026)  The Anti-Corruption Tracker: Mapping the Erosion of Oversight and Accountability "When the Guardrails Erode" Series 

Co-Hosts Tess Bridgeman and Rachel Goldbrenner are joined by Rebecca Ingber and Brian Finucane to examine the escalating U.S. campaign of killings of suspected drug traffickers at sea under “Operation Southern Spear” following the January 2026 capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The conversation explores the U.S. military operations in Venezuela and the intensifying campaign of lethal strikes in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, unpacks the Trump administration’s legal justifications, and looks at potential avenues for accountability. This installment is part five of the “Murder on the High Seas” series, produced in collaboration with the Reiss Center on Law and Security.Show Note: Just Security’s Collection: U.S. Lethal Strikes on Suspected Drug Traffickers, Operation Southern Spear, Operation Absolute Resolve   Jeremy Chin, Margaret Lin, Aidan Arasasingham, and Marie Miller, Timeline of Vessel Strikes and Related Actions (Nov. 21, 2025, updated regularly)   Rebecca Ingber, The Trump Administration’s Theory of Constitutional War Powers: “The President Could Decide (March 2, 2026)  Edward Swaine, Can the U.S. Government Be Sued for Wrongful Death in a Caribbean Boat Strike? (Jan. 29, 2026)Tess Bridgeman and Brian Finucane, War Powers, Venezuela, Drug Boats, and Congress (Jan. 12, 2026) Tess Bridgeman, Michael Schmitt, and Ryan Goodman, Expert Q&A on U.S. Military Action in Venezuela and Boat Strikes (Jan. 6, 2026)Michael Schmitt, Marko Milanovic, The International Law Obligation to Investigate the Boat Strikes (Dec. 15, 2025)Mark Nevitt, The Law on Targeting Shipwrecked Drug Traffickers: Expert Backgrounder (Dec. 11, 2025)Previously on “Murder on the High Seas”Tess Bridgeman, Rachel Goldbrenner, Rebecca Ingber, and Brian Finucane, The Just Security Podcast: Murder on the High Seas Part IV (Dec. 2, 2025)Tess Bridgeman, Brian Finucane, and Rebecca Ingber, The Just Security Podcast: Murder on the High Seas Part III  (Oct. 21, 2025, also available on YouTube)Tess Bridgeman, Brian Finucane, Rachel Goldbrenner, and Rebecca Ingber, The Just Security Podcast: Murder on the High Seas Part II — What We Know about U.S. Vessel Strikes One Month In (Oct. 7, 2025)Tess Bridgeman, Brian Finucane, and Rebecca Ingber, The Just Security Podcast: Murder on the High Seas? What You Need to Know about the U.S. Strike on the Caribbean Vessel (Sept. 9, 2025, also available on YouTube)

Should the FBI be allowed to access the content of Americans’ communications–emails, texts and phone calls–without obtaining a judicial warrant? That’s a key question facing Congress, with a looming deadline of April 30th. The question is wrapped up in the reauthorization of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Section 702, which will sunset at the end of this month.I had the opportunity to interview Andrew Weissmann, who served as FBI General Counsel in addition to other positions in the Department of Justice. Below are three highlights from our conversation. Our conversation is available as a video on this page as well as YouTube and soon as a podcast.]A bit of background before the excerpts below: Section 702 allows U.S. intelligence agencies to collect the email, text, and phone conversations of foreign nationals located in foreign countries. As a byproduct, Americans’ communications are caught in the surveillance net as well. Subject to limitations that Congress introduced in 2024, the FBI can dip into that vast database to look for communications of Americans – without a warrant and without probable cause of wrongdoing.Congress is presented with a three-prong fork in the road: reauthorize the tool as is, reform it with new warrant requirements, or let it sunset entirely. (For competing views on this topic at Just Security, see analysis by George Croner and by Elizabeth Goitein and Hannah James.)

Hungary’s April 12 parliamentary election brought a major political shift. After 16 years in power, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party lost to opposition leader Peter Magyar, whose coalition now holds a strong parliamentary majority. The result marks a new chapter in Hungary’s politics after years of debate about democratic accountability, media independence, and relations within the European Union.In this episode, Szuzanna Vegh joins Viola Gienger to explore how the opposition achieved its win, what priorities Magyar may set for his government, and how Hungary’s domestic and foreign policies could evolve.Show Note:Zsuzsanna Vegh’s Just Security article before the election, “Hungary’s Election Could End Orbán’s Rule — But Will It End His Power?” April 7, 2026.Just Security’s archive of articles related to Hungary.Just Security’s archives on Europe, democracy, and authoritarianism.

The North African country of Sudan marks a grim anniversary this week: the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have been fighting a civil war for three years, creating the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. About 14 million people have been forced to flee the fighting, often multiple times, and 4.4 million have fled to other countries, mostly to Chad, South Sudan, and Egypt, but also some to Europe. Today, one in four Sudanese is displaced. The U.N.’s Food and Agricultural Organization says 21 million Sudanese are facing acute food insecurity, including 6.3 million in the most dire state of food emergency.Quscondy Abdulshafi joins host Viola Gienger to discuss how Sudan got to this point, how the international community has responded, and where to go next. Show Notes:Quscondy Abdulshafi's April 2025 article for Just Security, "Two Years of War in Sudan: From Revolution to Ruin and the Fight to Rise Again."Rachel George’s recent article for Just Security, “Amid Shaky Cea sefire, War in Iran Is Starving Sudan.”Just Security Podcast episode “Assessing the Origins, Dynamics, and Future of Conflict in Sudan” with Executive Editor Matiangai Sirleaf, and three experts, Laura Nyantung Beny, Nisrin Elamin, Hamid Khalafallah, on Oct. 11, 2024.  Just Security’s Sudan Archive