John Healey condemns ‘indiscriminate’ attacks on Bahrain

On Trevor Phillips this morning, UK defence minister John Healey condemned ‘indiscriminate’ attacks on Bahrain by Iran. This is despite widespread reports confirming it was a US military base. However, Healey said nothing about the blatant indiscriminate attacks by Israel that have brutally murdered almost 150 women and children, bombing a girls’ elementary school in Iran.

Nevertheless, it’s no surprise as he seems perfectly happy to ignore the flagrant breach of international law in the US and Israel’s war of aggression on Iran. He even went so far as to suggest that the regime ‘lashing out’ in the Middle East is Iran.

Apparently murdering dozens of schoolgirls isn’t illegal in the eyes of our defence minister.

John Healey: US-Israeli bombing campaign is a ‘positive action’

In the interview, Healey was asked about the legality and legitimacy of the unexpected attack by Israel and the US on Iran. He didn’t state it was legal, clearly wary to show that level of support, but notably said he didn’t disagree with Phillips that the act was ‘positive’. Unsurprisingly, Phillips failed to bring up the Israeli bombing of a girls’ school in Iran, most of those killed between the ages of 7 and 12.

The double standard is hard to ignore, as Saul Staniforth highlighted on X:

As a result, it’s hard to avoid the painful reality that it appears John Healey either is undisturbed by the majority of those murdered being women and children in Iran on day one.

Or is his omission indirectly confirming the attack by Israel and supported by the US was ‘discriminate’ so deliberately? Given the advanced technology that has been on clear display from Israel in its brutal genocide on Palestine and acts of aggression on Lebanon, it’s incredibly hard to accept it as ‘accidental’.

According to international law, the Israel-US attack on Iran represents an illegal, unprovoked and aggressive act. In light of that, Iran very much has the legal right to defend itself. This is why it is ever more crucial for western leaders to remember the rule of law to prevent this escalating even further across the region. After all, I can’t imagine a western leader would hold back if a girls’ school had been bombed on our own territory.

Selective condemnation

This should come as no surprise that our leaders seem reluctant to defend and uphold international law. They’ve done so ever since October 7th, 2023, refusing to step on the wrong side of the rogue US President.

We wrote yesterday about Thornberry’s surprise recollection of the rule of law, declaring the attack on Iran was ‘illegal’. Whilst it’s a positive development, it also highlights how selective western government officials are in determining legality of military campaigns conducted by allies.

Our own Joe Glenton wrote:

She’s not entirely wrong. The strikes are illegal and ill-advised. Their consequences are likely to be severe not just for the wider region, but also for the global economy.

But still, there are a couple of thorny issues we must first address.

Thornberry has herself previously defended Israel’s genocidal misconduct in Gaza. In 2024, when asked on BBC if Israel cutting off food and electricity in Gaza was “within international law”:

Thornberry, with a straight-face, said:

I think Israel has an absolute right to defend itself against terrorism…

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We do not consent to WWIII

Thankfully, many more have been loud in their condemnation of these attacks and those who had been complicit in Gaza are stepping out of turn with their colleagues, such as Thornberry. Once again, as we saw with the genocide on Gaza, ordinary people are overwhelmingly able to understand the rule of law without a need to selectively apply it. This highlights that those who have power have precious little sense of principle.

As Zarah Sultana stated on X, we need a mass movement to stop the world careening into WWIII and we need that now.

Featured image via the Canary