When warplanes entered Tehran’s airspace on Friday, 13 June, and sirens pierced the dawn, it was not only Iranian skies that darkened, it was the legitimacy of global governance.
The confrontation between Israel and Iran is not a localised military skirmish. It is a geopolitical rupture with serious consequences for civilians, international law and the credibility of global leadership.
This crisis did not erupt in isolation.
On 1 April 2024, Israeli jets bombed the Iranian consular compound in Damascus, Syria, killing seven senior members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
This was not a battlefield, it was a diplomatic mission.
Under Article 22 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (1961), such premises are inviolable.
Iran promptly notified the United Nations Security Council through a letter (S/2024/281), asserting its right to respond.
That response came over a year later, on 13 June 2025.
Iran claimed its missile strikes targeted Israeli military infrastructure, though civilian casualties were reported.
Israel escalated swiftly. Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the assassination of another senior Iranian general, while US president Donald Trump, departing early from the G7 summit, warned: “The United States (US) knows exactly where [Iran’s supreme leader] is. He is an easy target. But he is safe, for now.”
These are not de-escalatory words, they are reckless provocations that fuel conflict.
DEADLY FALLOUT
Beyond Iran and Israel, the war’s fallout is regional and deadly.
In Gaza, dozens were killed while queuing for aid.
In the West Bank, where Israeli settlements are fortified with sirens and shelters, many Palestinian communities remain completely exposed.
War debris has rained down in areas far removed from military zones. These civilians are not parties to the conflict, but they pay the heaviest price.
Equally alarming is the legal vacuum surrounding this violence.
While China has accused the US of “fanning the flames”, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has remained silent.
International law is not ambiguous: The UN Charter prohibits the use of force except in self-defence.
The Geneva Conventions require protection of civilians, and the Rome Statute defines indiscriminate attacks as war crimes.
Yet these instruments are being ignored, and responses are disturbingly selective.
AFRICA MUST STEP UP
As an African scholar, I cannot ignore the historical parallels.
African liberation movements were once branded “terrorists” while Nato bombings in Yugoslavia and Libya were praised as humanitarian interventions.
Today, Israel bombs a diplomatic compound with impunity while Iran’s retaliation is cast as unlawful.
The lesson is sobering: Legality is conditional; enforcement is political.
Africa cannot remain a passive observer.
The continent has suffered from foreign interventions and Cold War manipulation.
As part of the Global South, we have long demanded an international system grounded in equal moral worth.
Silence now would betray that legacy.
Namibia may not be involved in Iran’s nuclear programme or Israel’s regional ambitions but it has a stake in global justice.
Namibia’s president, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, rightly described the Israeli strike as “a flagrant violation of Iran’s sovereignty” and warned of its “debilitating consequences” for global peace and energy security.
Namibia has spoken, now the African Union (AU) must act.
The AU Peace and Security Council has the mandate to convene emergency sessions, issue communiqués and deploy mediation teams.
If the United Nations (UN) falters, regional institutions must step up.
This is critical not only for African peace and stability, but also to reaffirm a rules-based international order where human life is sacrosanct.
WHO’S JUSTICE?
What lies ahead if this confrontation escalates?
First, the humanitarian toll will worsen. Ordinary civilians in Tehran, Gaza, and Tel Aviv will bear the brunt, not generals or heads of state.
Second, economic fallout is already evident. US crude oil prices spiked nearly 8% on 13 June.
For fuel-importing nations in the Global South, this means inflation, deepening poverty and slower growth.
Third, the erosion of international norms could embolden other states to act unilaterally.
The US invasion of Iraq in 2003 and Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 show how selective enforcement fosters impunity.
The psychological damage is no less severe.
Young people across the Middle East and Africa are watching and internalising the message – that justice is a privilege, not a principle.
In 2011, youth uprisings were driven by frustration with state repression and global indifference.
If they see hospitals bombed, aid blocked and global leaders justifying war crimes, a new wave of radicalisation may follow.
This is not just a crisis of foreign policy, it is a collapse of legitimacy.
Let there be no illusion: Iran’s actions are often destabilising.
It suppresses dissent and supports regional militias.
But this does not justify Israel’s violations of international law, including strikes on civilian infrastructure and diplomatic missions.
Defending civilian life must be consistent.
We cannot claim to uphold human rights while enabling those who trample them.
MORAL CLARITY IS NEEDED
UN secretary general António Guterres has warned that Israeli attacks on nuclear sites could trigger a catastrophe.
He urged restraint and respect for international law.
Yet past debates, such as the UN Security Council meeting on Resolution 2231 in December 2019, have done little to deter unlawful behaviour.
Thus, this moment demands more than diplomacy, it demands moral clarity.
We must condemn unlawful violence whoever commits it.
We must defend international law universally, not selectively.
And we must affirm the value of every human life, not just those who look like us or share our alliances.
Otherwise, we are not defending international order, we are witnessing its collapse.
- Gerson Shikukumwa is a Canon Collins Scholar currently pursuing a master’s degree in political science at the University of the Free State. He holds an honours degree in public management from the University of Namibia. The views expressed are his own.
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