又中又英 | War rules | 褚简宁

　　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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　　各个参战的国家理应遵从战争的规则。每一个国家都会设立自己的战争规则，称为「交战规则」。一个国家的作战规则或会跟另一个国家的规则有异，然而《日内瓦公约》清楚订明，某些行动例如袭击平民或非军事目标，均属不可接受的。联合国专家们说，在美国联合以色列对伊朗的战事中，已经违反了《日内瓦公约》的诸多战争规定。《卫报》找来的法律专家们都同意，美国和以色列对伊朗的pre-emptive攻击是违法的。

　　A pre-emptive attack就是对敌方出其不意的军事行动，用以先发制人，避免对手的imminent threat。An imminent threat是指逼近、可能随时出现的危险、伤害或军事袭击。《卫报》访谈的专家们都说，伊朗并未构成对美国和以色列逼在眉睫的威胁（imminent threat）。伊朗亦已宣称，对于它那先发制人（pre-emptive）的攻击是违法的，因为它并未构成即时威胁（imminent threat）。然而，美国和以色列坚持，他们那先发制人（pre-emptive）的袭击是用以自卫，因为伊朗对他们来说确实是逼在眉睫的威胁（imminent threat）。

　　双方可以争拗至没完没了（until the cows come home），因为双方都说自己是对的。习语until the cows come home是指很长很长一段时间，就像等待乳牛慢吞吞地归家，需要等很久。然而，联合国专家们现在说，战事双方都在违反交战规则。伊朗攻击了美国在中东几个盟国的许多平民目标，而双方亦都攻击了非军事目标，例如石油和天然气设施。一些法律专家则指，伊朗封锁霍尔木兹海峡，以中断全球石油供应，在国际法下亦属违法。

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Michael Chugani褚简宁
中译：七刻