BRUSSELS

Former Irish President Mary Robinson called on countries to uphold international law without "double standards," contrasting the strong criticism of Russia over Ukraine war with what she described as a weaker response to US and Israeli strikes on Iran.

Speaking to Sky News on Friday, Robinson stressed the importance of global accountability, saying nations must speak out against violations regardless of who commits them.

"It's really very important that other countries do speak up, because we need to support the international rule of law. It's one of the great gains of humanity, and we need to reserve it, and therefore we don't want to have double standards," he said.

Robinson pointed to the strong international response following the start of Russia's war on Ukraine, contrasting it with what she described as a more muted reaction to recent actions by the US and Israel targeting Iran.

"We see aggression now by the United States and Israel on Iran, which is not justified on the Charter, which is illegal, and very few countries have spoken explicitly about it. They're trying to avoid," she said.

Highlighting diplomatic efforts, she noted that Oman's foreign minister had spoken "very clearly" about ongoing negotiations, including what she described as a "new and substantive proposal" from Iran.

"Instead of continuing with that, all of a sudden, there is this military attack which is unjustified under international law, and governments must be prepared to speak out about that," Robinson said.

⁠Since Israel and the US launched joint attacks on Iran on Feb. 28, killing some 1,300 people, including then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, hostilities have escalated.

⁠Iran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf countries hosting US military assets.