ERBIL - The US drone strike that killed the Iranian top commander, Qassem Soleimani, was a violation of international law, the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial killing argued.
Agnes Callamard said in a report that the United States failed to provide enough evidence of an imminent attack on its interests in Iraq to justify its killing of Soleimani in the capital Baghdad earlier in January.
"Major General Soleimani was in charge of Iran’s military strategy, and actions, in Syria and Iraq. But absent an actual imminent threat to life, the course of action taken by the US was unlawful," Callamard said.
The independent investigator also told Reuters that "the world is at a critical time — and possible tipping point — when it comes to the use of drones. … The Security Council is missing in action; the international community, willingly or not, stands largely silent."