TOKYO, March 4 (Xinhua) -- Japanese newspaper Tokyo Shimbun recently published an editorial titled "The U.S. attack on Iran is an outrageous act that threatens the international order," condemning the military strikes by the United States and Israel as violations of the UN Charter and international law.
According to the editorial published on Monday, U.S. and Israeli forces bombed Iran's capital Tehran and several other cities, resulting in a large number of civilian casualties and killing Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran has since launched retaliatory strikes.
The newspaper criticized the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran as nothing less than an outrage that disregards the UN Charter and international law, arguing that the U.S. military action lacked authorization from Congress as required under the U.S. Constitution.
The editorial noted that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for an immediate ceasefire, amid grave concerns over the potential escalation of the conflict. It stressed that the international community must intensify diplomatic pressure to achieve an immediate ceasefire.
The paper further pointed out that the United States and Iran resumed negotiations in February on the nuclear issue. Oman's foreign minister, who served as a mediator, expressed anger that "serious negotiations have once again been undermined." The editorial described the reaction as "not unexpected," adding that Washington's approach of forcing the other side to choose between "surrender or war" as gunboat diplomacy is utterly unworthy of being called diplomacy.
While the Japanese government has refrained from commenting on the U.S. military action, the editorial said, Tokyo should work with the United Nations and Middle Eastern countries to press the United States and Israel for an immediate ceasefire. ■