Norway: International law is worth defending, even when allies break it
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Wed, 06/10/2026 - 15:47
In Oslo, Andreas Kravik argues the battered global order can still be salvaged, but only if states are willing to confront their friends as readily as their enemies
Norway's deputy foreign minister Andreas Kravik speaks to Middle East Eye in Oslo (MEE/Hossam Sarhan)
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International law should be defended even when the country's closest allies are the ones breaking it, said Norway's deputy foreign minister as Oslo reiterated its condemnation of the US-Israeli war on Iran as illegal.
In an interview with Middle East Eye's Expert Witness podcast in Oslo, four months into the devastating war, Andreas Kravik said the war on Iran, launched on 28 February, had no basis in law.
"In our interpretation of the law, it is not a legal operation," Kravik said. "We think that is a violation of the UN Charter, and we have said so in no unclear terms."
Kravik, a public international lawyer and the foreign ministry's former chief of legal affairs, said a state could lawfully use force against another only with authorisation from the UN Security Council, in self-defence against an immediate threat, or with the consent of the state concerned. None applied in Iran's case.
"There is no authorisation here from the UN Security Council… and there was no consent from Iranian authorities," he said. Norway had carried out its own legal assessment, he added.
Kravik said Iran also held a right to self-defence under the Charter but had itself breached international law in its response. "Every state has a right to self-defence, including Iran," he said, but "that self-defence needs to be proportionate" and must not target civilians. Iran's strikes on third countries, as well as its earlier crackdown on domestic protesters over the deteriorating economic situation, also violated international law, he said.
Kravik, who recently argued in an essay that international law remained worth defending "even if it protects those who least deserve it", said states too often invoked it selectively.
"Sometimes it can be more important to criticise or take on some of your closest allies," he said. "If we move into a global community where we speak out only when our adversaries violate the law, and not where our friends do so, then the law will eventually collapse."
While many commentators argue that international law is effectively dead following Israel's genocide in Gaza, the abduction of Venezuela's president, and the war on Iran, Kravik insists the reality is more nuanced. "I think it's clear that international law matters. I think it's clear that it has to matter," he said.
"Without international law, without multilateralism, which is very closely linked to international law, we're not going to be able to preserve international stability."
He argued that violations often seize the attention while compliance goes unnoticed. "We also have multiple violations of national law… but we don't say that Norwegian law has lost relevance."
But he added that condemning the US-Israeli war on Iran as illegal had not stopped Oslo, as a mediator, from working with Washington to end it, nor had it prevented Norway from engaging Iran despite its own breaches. "Even though the law has been violated, we need to find a way forward to reinvigorate the diplomatic process," he told MEE.
Iran war mediation
With the conflict still raging and Israel expanding the war front into Lebanon, Oslo has cast itself as a quiet mediator, backing Pakistan's effort to bring the parties back to the table.
In this capacity, Kravik travelled to Islamabad to meet Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar and army chief General Asim Munir. He also met Iran’s foreign minister in Tehran and Oman's foreign minister in Muscat.
Kravik meeting with Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, May 2026 (Pakistan foreign ministry)
"Our message has been clear," he said, "It's important that the parties return to the table, that they are adamant in finding a diplomatic solution, and that that solution ensures that the Strait of Hormuz is managed in a way that comports with the basic principles enshrined in the law of the sea."
The Strait of Hormuz, the world's most vital energy shipping choke point has been closed by Iran for much of the war, with the US blockading Iranian ports in return.
‘Unconscionable’ sanctions on ICC
Meanwhile, Kravik voiced his country’s support for the International Criminal Court (ICC), and condemned US sanctions on its judges and prosecutors.
"The fact that some third states who aren't party to the court have decided to sanction court officials for just doing their jobs is unconscionable," he said, adding that "the integrity and the mandate of the ICC has never been more important."
ICC states should respect judges' report on prosecutor, says Norway’s deputy foreign minister
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Asked about the ICC's arrest warrant for Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Kravik said Norway would comply. "If there is an arrest warrant attached to an individual who is on Norwegian soil, we will execute on that warrant," he said.
He also weighed in on the disciplinary proceedings facing ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan, urging states parties to respect a conclusion by a judicial panel appointed by the court’s oversight body to determine whether he was guilty of misconduct.
"When the report and three judges have come to the conclusion that there are no grounds for the termination of his contract, then I think that should be respected by states." To disregard it would invite "a perception of politicisation of the process," he added. "That would hurt the integrity of the court."
On the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Kravik said Israel was ignoring last year's advisory opinion, sought by a Norwegian-led UN resolution, requiring it to facilitate humanitarian aid to Gaza and not obstruct the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Unrwa.
"At the current moment, we're seeing that those decisions by the ICJ are not respected by Israel," he said. "That's extremely unfortunate."
He described Unrwa as "an indispensable organisation" that Norway would continue to fund.
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