又中又英 | War rules | 褚簡寧

　　Countries at war are supposed to follow the rules of war. Each country sets its own war rules, known as the Rules of Engagement. War rules of one country may differ from the rules of another, but the Geneva Convention clearly states that some actions, such as attacking civilians and non-military targets, are unacceptable. United Nations experts say many Geneva Convention war rules are being broken in the US-Israel war with Iran. Legal experts The Guardian newspaper spoke to agree the US-Israel pre-emptive attack against Iran was illegal.

　　A pre-emptive attack means a surprise military action against an opponent to prevent an imminent threat from the opponent. An imminent threat means danger, harm, or a military attack that could occur at any moment. The experts The Guardian spoke to said Iran did not pose an imminent threat to the US and Israel. Iran has also claimed the pre-emptive attack against it was illegal because it did not pose an imminent threat. But the US and Israel insisted their pre-emptive strike was in self-defence because Iran did pose an imminent threat to them.

　　Both sides can argue until the cows come home because both sides say they are right. The expression "until the cows come home" means for a very long time. But UN experts now say both sides are breaking the rules of engagement. Iran has attacked many civilian targets in the Middle East that are US allies. Both sides have also attacked non-military targets such as oil and gas sites. Some legal experts say Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz to disrupt global oil supplies is illegal under international law.

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　　各個參戰的國家理應遵從戰爭的規則。每一個國家都會設立自己的戰爭規則，稱為「交戰規則」。一個國家的作戰規則或會跟另一個國家的規則有異，然而《日內瓦公約》清楚訂明，某些行動例如襲擊平民或非軍事目標，均屬不可接受的。聯合國專家們說，在美國聯合以色列對伊朗的戰事中，已經違反了《日內瓦公約》的諸多戰爭規定。《衛報》找來的法律專家們都同意，美國和以色列對伊朗的pre-emptive攻擊是違法的。

　　A pre-emptive attack就是對敵方出其不意的軍事行動，用以先發制人，避免對手的imminent threat。An imminent threat是指逼近、可能隨時出現的危險、傷害或軍事襲擊。《衛報》訪談的專家們都說，伊朗並未構成對美國和以色列逼在眉睫的威脅（imminent threat）。伊朗亦已宣稱，對於它那先發制人（pre-emptive）的攻擊是違法的，因為它並未構成即時威脅（imminent threat）。然而，美國和以色列堅持，他們那先發制人（pre-emptive）的襲擊是用以自衛，因為伊朗對他們來說確實是逼在眉睫的威脅（imminent threat）。

　　雙方可以爭拗至沒完沒了（until the cows come home），因為雙方都說自己是對的。習語until the cows come home是指很長很長一段時間，就像等待乳牛慢吞吞地歸家，需要等很久。然而，聯合國專家們現在說，戰事雙方都在違反交戰規則。伊朗攻擊了美國在中東幾個盟國的許多平民目標，而雙方亦都攻擊了非軍事目標，例如石油和天然氣設施。一些法律專家則指，伊朗封鎖霍爾木茲海峽，以中斷全球石油供應，在國際法下亦屬違法。

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Michael Chugani褚簡寧
中譯：七刻