More than 100 international legal experts said Thursday that the United States military may be committing war crimes during its more than one-month-long assault on Iran.
In a signed letter, the US-based practitioners expressed "profound concern" at what they described as "serious violations of international law" being perpetrated by US forces in the region.
Signatories included senior professors at leading US law schools, ex-military officials, former UN rapporteurs, and human rights professionals.
The conduct of the US military in Iran raises "serious concerns about violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, including potential war crimes", the letter said.
It described statements by US officials dismissing international law as "profoundly alarming and dangerously short-sighted" and urged the Trump administration to uphold its international obligations.
The US and Israel have carried out a punishing bombing campaign in Iran since 28 February, when they assassinated then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
More than 3,500 people have been killed in the attacks, including at least 1,606 civilians, according to Iranian human rights group HRANA. Tens of thousands of others are thought to have been injured.
The bulk of the bombing has focused on military and government infrastructure, though Israel has in recent days begun taking aim at the foundations of the country's economy, striking energy facilities and steel plants.
Iran has responded by attacking US military sites and civilian infrastructure across the Gulf. It has launched thousands of missile and drone attacks across the region over the past 33 days.
Rouhani: Fundamental reforms needed to overcome war
Iran's reformist former president Hassan Rouhani has urged the government to undertake fundamental reforms as the country comes under huge pressure from the US-Israeli war, Iranian media reported.
The two-term president also called on the Supreme National Security Council to explore various scenarios, relating to both ending or prolonging the conflict, and to make a decision.
Rouhani served as Iran's president between 2013 and 2019. His administration signed the landmark nuclear deal with the US in 2015, before Donald Trump pulled out three years later.