A reaction to the Tagesschau article "Life in Iran after the war with Israel" from 10 July 2025
War never brings anything but suffering and death to the civilian population. Narcissistic rulers pursue territorial, economic, religious-fanatical or personal goals - the suffering is borne by the people who never asked for this war. In the end, everyone always loses. The Tagesschau report "Life in Iran after the war with Israel" from minute 12:00 shows this painfully clearly1tagesschau 20:00, 10.07.2025 🌐 https://youtu.be/ErIDAAlEumw?t=720 .
The perversion of the Nobel Peace Prize
Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity, nominates Donald Trump of all people for the Nobel Peace Prize2Benjamin Netanyahu proposes Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize 🌐 https://www.zeit.de/politik/2025-07/benjamin-netanjahu-donald-trump-friedensnobelpreis-weisses-haus . This happened at a meeting in the White House, where Netanyahu presented Trump with a copy of his letter of recommendation to the Nobel Committee3Meeting in Washington: Netanyahu proposes Trump for Nobel Prize 🌐 https://www.welt.de/politik/ausland/article256361922/treffen-in-washington-netanjahu-schlaegt-trump-fuer-nobelpreis-vor-und-praesentiert-brillanten-palaestina-plan.html .
The irony is grotesque: a war criminal recommends another war criminal for the Nobel Peace Prize. Netanyahu praised Trump for creating "peace in one country, one region at a time"4Netanyahu proposes Trump for Nobel Peace Prize - YouTube 🌐 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSD9oYvy6U8 . Just a few weeks earlier, Trump had supported the attack on Iran with bunker-busting bombs in violation of international law5Israel wants to lock Palestinians in camps, Taliban are ... - Republic 🌐 https://www.republik.ch/2025/07/11/wichtigste-news-zu-gaza-zoellen-netanyahu-trump-taliban-ukraine .
The attack on Iran in violation of international law
The claim of the "nuclear bomb" was a pretext. On 13 June 2025, Israel launched a major attack on Iran under the code name "Rising Lion", allegedly to destroy the Iranian nuclear programme6Israel-Iran war - Wikipedia 🌐 https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israelisch-iranischer_Krieg . This happened despite the fact that just one day earlier the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported that Iran did not yet possess a nuclear weapon7Israel's attack on Iran: Legitimate or against international law? 🌐 https://www.dw.com/de/israels-iran-angriff-und-us-bomben-legitim-praeventiv-verteidigung-oder-voelkerrechtswidrig/a-72997958 .
A report by the Bundestag's scientific services comes to a clear conclusion: the "overwhelming majority of international law experts" do not consider the criteria for a self-defence situation for Israel under Article 51 of the UN Charter to be fulfilled8War in the Middle East: expert opinion casts doubt on the legality of Israeli attacks 🌐 https://www.zeit.de/politik/2025-07/israel-iran-angriff-voelkerrecht-gutachten . Israel would have had to prove that Iran was on the verge of building a nuclear weapon and had the firm intention of using it against Israel9International law experts question reasons for Israel's attack on Iran 🌐 https://www.spiegel.de/ausland/israel-iran-konflikt-voelkerrechtler-zweifeln-gruende-fuer-israels-angriff-auf-iran-an-a-d50753d5-f5b3-4aea-9cb7-40f7f971c345 .
The brutal reality for the civilian population
The figures speak for themselves: according to the human rights organisation HRANA, at least 585 people have been killed and 1,326 injured in Iran since the start of the war. At least 239 of these were civilians10Israel-Iran war - Wikipedia 🌐 https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israelisch-iranischer_Krieg . According to Iranian government figures, 224 people were killed, 90 per cent of them civilians11Terror against Tehran - Our time 🌐 https://www.unsere-zeit.de/terror-gegen-teheran-4804431/ .
People live in permanent fear: as Tagesschau correspondent Katharina Willinger reports, there are no air raid shelters or early warning systems in the Iranian capital, which has a population of over 15 million12Escape from Tehran: traffic jams, panic, no protection - DW 🌐 https://www.dw.com/de/iran-flucht-aus-teheran-staus-panik-kein-schutz-israel-netanjahu-donald-trump-chamenei-v3/a-72932803 . Paria, a young Iranian woman, talks about sleepless nights and fleeing Tehran: "After our return, nothing is the same as before. We live with sadness and a bit of fear"13tagesschau 20:00, 10.07.2025 🌐 https://youtu.be/ErIDAAlEumw?t=720 .
Trump's escalation: Operation Midnight Hammer
As if that wasn't enough, Trump intervened directly: On 22 June 2025, the USA bombed Iranian nuclear facilities in Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan under the code name "Operation Midnight Hammer"14USA bombs Iran's nuclear facilities - DW 🌐 https://www.dw.com/de/usa-bombardieren-irans-atomanlagen-fordo-natans-isfahan-krieg-trumps-angriff-bunkerbrechende-bomben/a-72997414 . Seven B-2 bombers were deployed, which dropped twelve 13.6-tonne GBU-57 bunker-buster bombs15Israel-Iran war - Wikipedia 🌐 https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israelisch-iranischer_Krieg .
Trump bragged about the "biggest bombs ever": When nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, Trump boasted that he had used "the biggest bombs ever, the biggest bombs we've ever dropped on anybody". He then praised the use of nuclear weapons against Japan, saying: "That ended a lot of battles"16World peace through mass murder: Netanyahu nominates Trump for the ... 🌐 https://www.wsws.org/de/articles/2025/07/09/pers-j09.html .
The response of international law experts
The experts' assessment is clear: "My impression is that most international law experts see the Israeli attack as a case of prohibited self-defence," says Professor Matthias Goldmann from EBS University Wiesbaden17Israel's attack on Iran: Legitimate or against international law? 🌐 https://www.dw.com/de/israels-iran-angriff-und-us-bomben-legitim-praeventiv-verteidigung-oder-voelkerrechtswidrig/a-72997958 . The US intervention would also only have been in accordance with international law if the Israeli attacks had been - of which there are "considerable doubts"18International law experts question reasons for Israel's attack on Iran 🌐 https://www.spiegel.de/ausland/israel-iran-konflikt-voelkerrechtler-zweifeln-gruende-fuer-israels-angriff-auf-iran-an-a-d50753d5-f5b3-4aea-9cb7-40f7f971c345 .
Sanctions against the judiciary
Instead of facing justice, Trump fights it: In February 2025, Trump imposed sanctions against the International Criminal Court over the arrest warrants against Netanyahu and former Israeli defence minister Joav Gallant19Trump imposes sanctions against International Criminal Court 🌐 https://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/amerika/trump-sanktionen-istgh-100.html . Employees of the ICC have been banned from travelling to the USA and their assets have been frozen20Trump orders sanctions against International Criminal Court 🌐 https://rsw.beck.de/aktuell/daily/meldung/detail/trump-sanktionen-istgh-haftbefehl-netanjahu .
The Crimea analogy: missed opportunities
If we had stopped all Russian energy supplies back in 2014 after the annexation of Crimea, we wouldn't be discussing arms supplies today. Germany still sourced 55% of its gas from Russia in 202121DIW Berlin: Energy Supply Security in Germany, 2022 🌐 https://www.diw.de/de/diw_01.c.839511.de/publikationen/diw_focus/2022_0007/energy_supply_security_in_germany.html . This dependence weakened any threat of sanctions and strengthened Putin's source of money.
The same logic applies to Iran: every dollar, every euro that flows into autocratic regimes finances their war machine. And although the West has largely withdrawn from this, unfortunately not all trading partners see it the same way. I will be writing a separate article in the next few days on who is still providing Iran with aid today and what dubious detours and cover-up tactics they are using. Or two. Let's see what else I can find out.
The Nobel Peace Prize as a farce
Trump's nomination by Netanyahu is a mockery of all peace efforts: Two men who allow civilians to be bombed, who trample on international law and fight justice, talk about "peace". Like Netanyahu, Trump belongs before the International Court of Human Rights - not on the list of Nobel Peace Prize winners.
The images from Tehran show the truth: while Netanyahu and Trump talk about peace prizes, mothers cry like pariahs for their safety, and people like Hamed Minoufaam mourn their slain mother Fatemeh22tagesschau 20:00, 10.07.2025 🌐 https://youtu.be/ErIDAAlEumw?t=720 . Nuclear bomb my arse - but hundreds of civilian victims. That is the brutal reality of these "peacemakers".
