A/HRC/44/38 65. It is worth noting that only some States have sought to defend the legality of the strike against General Soleimani while most “were more reluctant to express views in legal terms” and the “majority of States remain(ed) silent”.99 66. Although this case study concerns the strike against General Soleimani, it is important to note that this strike did not justify Iran’s subsequent actions against the United States. On January 8, Iran launched more than a dozen missiles at military bases in Iraq hosting US forces. In their communication to the Security Council, Iran claimed its right to self-defence under Article 51 but made no reference to an imminent or ongoing armed attack by the US. These Iranian attacks also fail to qualify as self-defense under Art. 51. 67. It may well be that these acts of military force between the US and Iran signal further normative dislocation and disintegration of the framework upon which global peace and security has been based and normatively regulated for the past 75 years. However, and for immediate purpose, the one certitude derived from both the US and Iranian official statements is that their respective strikes were unlawful under jus ad bellum. Both armed attacks appear designed to retaliate, and the top officials in both countries focused primarily on that goal in their public statements.100 Under the UN Charter, armed attacks for purposes of retaliation are never permissible.101 VI. Involvement of a third state in the drone strike 68. The attack against General Soleimani occurred in Iraq, a sovereign State, without its consent. As such, it was a use of force against Iraq and a violation of its sovereignty. A senior Iraqi military official was killed, Abu Mahdi al-Mohandes, deputy commander of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMFs), as well as 4 men from PMF’s forces.102 In its letter to the UNSC, the United States failed to address or justify the killing of these men or explain why its violation of Iraqi sovereignty was justified. There have been no official explanations to the UNSC indicating whether these men were targets because considered part of the ongoing or imminent attack that the United States claimed to have defended itself against, or whether they were deemed “collateral damage”.103 69. Iraq formally protested this strike to the UNSC.104 Speaking of Iran and the US, it stated that it had “repeatedly asked our allies in the war on ISIL to refrain from drawing Iraq into their bilateral conflict. We have stressed that Iraq must not become the theatre of that conflict; its sole focus is on combating ISIL, and it earnestly endeavours to maintain strong relations with the two parties.” It stated that the US drone strike ���amounts to an aggression against the State, Government and people of Iraq” and “a flagrant violation of the terms under which United States forces are present in the country”. Iraq called on the “Security Council 99 100 101 102 103 104 36 https://www.justsecurity.org/68173/compilation-of-states-reactions-to-u-s-and-iranian-uses-of-forcein-iraq-in-january-2020/. On January 4, 2020, President Trump tweeted: “They attacked us, & we hit back. If they attack again, which I would strongly advise them not to do, we will hit them harder than they have ever been hit before!” The day before, on January 3, 2020, President Rouhani had stated: “There is no doubt that the great nation of Iran and the other free nations of the region will take revenge on this horrible crime from criminal America.” See https://www.justsecurity.org/68173/compilation-of-statesreactions-to-u-s-and-iranian-uses-of-force-in-iraq-in-january-2020/. https://www.ejiltalk.org/iran-unlawfully-retaliates-against-the-united-states-violating-iraqisovereignty-in-the-process/. The PMF militias were incorporated into the Iraqi military in 2016. All five men were members of Kata’ib Hezbollah (KH), and Mr. Al-Mohandes had been its founder. https://www.justsecurity.org /67917/united-states-killed-iraqi-military-official-and-iraqi-military-personnel-in-the-two-recentattacks/. News reports suggest that the US knew that these men had come into the target zone; it would have called off the strike if “Iraqi government officials allied with the US” had been there. KH is on the US State Department list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations. https://www.justsecurity.org/ 67917/unitedstates-killed-iraqi-military-official-and-iraqi-military-personnel-in-the-two-recent-attacks/. It should be noted that KH launched the attacks in December against US outposts, so one could argue that Iraq forces fired the first shot. https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/3846366?ln=en.