Research and development in criminal law and criminology

Research and development in criminal law and criminology

Editorial: From Sacred Ignorance to the Enemy’s Legal Armament

Public Titles

Authors
1 Professor, Faculty of Law, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran.
2 President, Iranian Law and Legal Research Institute; Former Justice, Supreme Court of Iran, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
This editorial introduces and elaborates upon the concept of “the enemy’s legal armament” (taslih-e hoquqi-ye doshman), positing it as a contemporary manifestation of “sacred ignorance” (jahl-e moqaddas). The authors argue that a range of domestic pronouncements, policies, and symbolic actions have, often inadvertently, supplied Iran’s adversaries—notably the Israeli regime and the United States—with a pretextual legal basis to legitimize their acts of aggression. This phenomenon is exemplified by the recent twelve-day war, which was preceded by a critical resolution from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The editorial contends that these self-inflicted legal vulnerabilities are weaponized in international fora, providing a veneer of legitimacy for hostile foreign policy and enabling adversaries to frame their actions as defensive responses to purported existential threats. By analyzing a series of case studies—ranging from inflammatory political rhetoric and symbolic displays to counterproductive domestic policies—the article systematically addresses the conditions facilitating such aggression, the specific domestic actions exploited by adversaries, the relative causality of this “legal armament” in provoking hostilities, and whether the double standards of international bodies can ever justify such strategic imprudence. The authors conclude not by advocating for acquiescence, but by calling for a paradigm shift towards strategic prudence in official discourse and policymaking. The ultimate objective, they argue, is to engage in the “legal disarmament” of the enemy. This approach is presented as a strategic imperative within the context of hybrid warfare and as an ethical obligation rooted in jurisprudential principles—exemplified by the fatwa against weapons of mass destruction—and the overriding national interest.