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Luke Moffett

@lukemoffett

Prof of Human Rights and #IHL researching on redress, civilian harm, OSINT and AI, working on rewilding the north coast. Author of Algorithms of War (2026), Reparations and War (OUP 2023), and Justice for Victims at the ICC (2014).

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Latest posts by Luke Moffett @lukemoffett

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When Red Lines Cross Blue Lines: Cyber Attacks on Poland’s Water Infrastructure – Part II - Lieber Institute West Point Cyber operations against water infrastructure are not legally low-impact just because they are digital or, for now, short-lived.

Cyber operations against water infrastructure are not legally low-impact just because they are digital or, for now, short-lived, argue Szymon Skalski and Natosha Hoduski. lieber.westpoint.edu/when-red-lin...

06.03.2026 17:09 👍 3 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
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Russia is providing Iran intelligence to target U.S. forces, officials say The targeting information has included the locations of American warships and aircraft in the Middle East, the officials said.

Russia is providing Iran with targeting information to attack American forces in the Middle East, according to three officials familiar with the intelligence.

This includes the locations of warships and aircraft

www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

06.03.2026 12:26 👍 67 🔁 33 💬 7 📌 19

Yet killed over 170 children and potentially hundreds of other civilians

06.03.2026 08:26 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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Exclusive: US investigation points to likely US responsibility in Iran school strike, sources say Military investigators believe it is likely that U.S. forces were responsible for an apparent strike on an Iranian girls' school that killed scores of children on Saturday, two U.S. officials told Reu...

Reuters Exclusive

"U.S. military investigators believe it is likely that U.S. forces were responsible for an apparent strike on an Iranian girls' school."

"The strike would rank among the worst cases of civilian casualties in decades of U.S. conflicts in the ​Middle East."

06.03.2026 02:50 👍 9294 🔁 4954 💬 580 📌 600
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Iran school and nearby military base struck multiple times, satellite image reveals Iranian authorities say the attack, which took place on Saturday, killed 168 people.

"Verified videos and satellite imagery show extensive damage around the Shajareh Tayebeh primary school in Minab and the adjacent Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps compound. It also suggests the area was 'struck by multiple simultaneous or near-simultaneous strikes'"
www.bbc.com/news/article...

05.03.2026 20:40 👍 3 🔁 4 💬 1 📌 0
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Iran conflict: air campaigns rarely work as intended – they often make matters worse Fomenting a revolution when you have little ability to control how events play out on the ground can lead to unfavourable outcomes.

Fomenting a revolution when you have little ability to control how events play out on the ground can lead to unfavourable outcomes.

05.03.2026 12:40 👍 11 🔁 8 💬 0 📌 0
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Investigation Debunks Claims IRGC Bombed Iranian School I woke up on Saturday at 6 a.m. to a text message from a friend that read: “I’m thinking of you. I hope your friends and family in Iran are ok.” That’s how I learned that the United States and Israel had started their military operation. Immediately, I started scanning Telegram channels wher...

Current top read:
@ntabrizy.bsky.socialexplains how an open-source investigation debunked viral claims that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard accidentally bombed a girls’ school in Minab, showing the evidence circulating online was misidentified or fabricated.

05.03.2026 15:12 👍 5 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 0
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U.S. Military Joins Drug War in Ecuador: “It Wasn’t Going to Be Just Boat Strikes Forever” Two government officials told The Intercept that the joint U.S.–Ecuador military action won’t just be a one-off raid.

U.S. Military Joins Drug War in Ecuador: “It Wasn’t Going to Be Just Boat Strikes Forever”

Two government officials told The Intercept that the joint U.S.–Ecuador military action won’t just be a one-off raid.

theintercept.com/2026/03/04/u...

04.03.2026 21:59 👍 27 🔁 21 💬 6 📌 2
(1) After each engagement, Parties to the conflict shall, without delay, take all possible measures to search for and collect the shipwrecked, wounded and sick, to protect them against pillage and ill-treatment, to ensure their adequate care, and to search for the dead and prevent their being despoiled.
(2) Whenever circumstances permit, the Parties to the conflict shall conclude local arrangements for the removal of the wounded and sick by sea from a besieged or encircled area and for the passage of medical and religious personnel and equipment on their way to that area.

(1) After each engagement, Parties to the conflict shall, without delay, take all possible measures to search for and collect the shipwrecked, wounded and sick, to protect them against pillage and ill-treatment, to ensure their adequate care, and to search for the dead and prevent their being despoiled. (2) Whenever circumstances permit, the Parties to the conflict shall conclude local arrangements for the removal of the wounded and sick by sea from a besieged or encircled area and for the passage of medical and religious personnel and equipment on their way to that area.

As I've addressed this issue in a few interviews today, here's Article 18 of the Second Geneva Convention which bears on the duties to search for and collect the shipwrecked following engagements at sea—such as the sinking of the Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean.

04.03.2026 22:32 👍 147 🔁 81 💬 5 📌 2
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How an underground fungal map of the world's oldest, slowest-growing rainforest trees can boost Earth's resilience The temperate rainforests of the Chilean Coast Range are home to a spectacular array of life: iridescent blue lizards, tiny wild cats called kodkods, and curly vines of waxy red bellflowers. Towering ...

Globally, mycorrhizal fungal communities move roughly a billion tons of carbon per year into Earth's soils, above all in old-growth forests.

Wild, natural ecosystems are the bedrock of a healthy planet. It's time we started recognising and acting on that.
share.google/afcBcyPH7lVc...

05.03.2026 07:06 👍 202 🔁 68 💬 2 📌 1
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Is the UK's intervention in Iran war legal? Starmer said Britain would intercept Iranian missiles and allow US to use its bases in defensive action. Does that make the UK complicit in an illegal war?

British PM Starmer says that U.K. bases will only be used for ’defensive’ operations and not ‘offensive’ ops. But how can that be so when they are being used by the aggressor?
Great discussion here with Milanovic, @adhaque.bsky.social @janinadill.bsky.social
www.middleeasteye.net/explainers/u...

04.03.2026 22:49 👍 13 🔁 11 💬 0 📌 0
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Is the UK's intervention in Iran war legal? Starmer said Britain would intercept Iranian missiles and allow US to use its bases in defensive action. Does that make the UK complicit in an illegal war?

Excellent explainer with analysis from @janinadill.bsky.social, @oonahathaway.bsky.social, @adhaque.bsky.social, Ben Saul, and Marko Milanovic:
www.middleeasteye.net/explainers/u...

04.03.2026 21:49 👍 29 🔁 9 💬 0 📌 2
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Quit ChatGPT: right now! Your subscription is bankrolling authoritarianism | Rutger Bregman As a historian, I’ve studied the major consumer boycotts of history. We can take down ChatGPT and send a powerful signal to Silicon Valley, says author and historian Rutger Bregman

"The most effective consumer boycotts in history share two qualities: they are narrow and they are easy," writes @rutgerbregman.com

04.03.2026 14:44 👍 2237 🔁 1099 💬 71 📌 104
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Anthropic cofounder says studying the humanities will be 'more important than ever' and reveals what the AI company looks for when hiring | Fortune "The things that make us human will become much more important instead of much less important."

Anthropic co-founder Daniela Amodei argues that as AI takes over more technical tasks, uniquely human qualities (communication, empathy, critical thinking, and a humanities-based understanding of people) will become more important than ever in the workplace.
fortune.com/2026/02/07/a...

04.03.2026 20:47 👍 11 🔁 2 💬 1 📌 1
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Iranian warship sank by US sub in Indian Ocean, Hegseth says Sri Lanka's navy says around 140 people are feared missing after a military vessel went down off its southern coast.

Iranian warship sank by US sub in Indian Ocean, Hegseth said it was "the first sinking of an enemy ship by a torpedo since WW2"

Is anyone checking basic facts? Not the first submarine sunk, at least the third after ARA General Belgrano in 1982 & INS Khukri in 1971

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

04.03.2026 18:55 👍 1 🔁 2 💬 1 📌 0
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Was Targeting Ayatollah Khamenei and Other Iranian Leaders Lawful? After Ali Khamenei was killed in Iran war a key question arises: when is striking a member of the enemy leadership lawful?

“Was Targeting Ayatollah Khamenei and Other Iranian Leaders Lawful? What Precedents Does It Set?”

By Marko Milanovic and Michael Schmitt

www.justsecurity.org/133171/ayato...

04.03.2026 16:43 👍 32 🔁 17 💬 4 📌 3
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Satellite Imagery Reveals Strikes on Iranian Police Stations - bellingcat The US has released a list of military targets in Iran, including IRGC headquarters and missile systems. But Bellingcat has reviewed strikes against another type of target inside the Islamic Republic ...

A satellite imagery analysis conducted by Bellingcat shows that at least 15 police stations or police-related buildings were targeted in strikes conducted in Tehran between March 1 and March 3. www.bellingcat.com/news/middle-...

04.03.2026 16:17 👍 195 🔁 58 💬 8 📌 3
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🇮🇷🛳️ Iranian Navy Mowj-class frigate Dena was reportedly sunk by a U.S. submarine near Sri Lanka.

32 severely injured sailors were rescued, while 148 remain missing.

The ship was returning from the International Fleet Review / MILAN 2026 naval exercise in India when it sank on March 4.

04.03.2026 09:58 👍 140 🔁 41 💬 5 📌 3
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“Bombs will fall Everywhere”: The American, Israeli and Iranian Weapons Being Deployed in Middle East - bellingcat Bellingcat has been monitoring strikes across the Middle East and has identified a wide variety of weapons that have been used in the conflict so far, including missiles and drones.

"Bellingcat has been monitoring strikes across the region, including those that caused civilian harm, and identified a wide variety of weapons have been used so far, including missiles and drones."

“Bombs will fall Everywhere”: 👇 www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/03...

04.03.2026 09:59 👍 12 🔁 7 💬 0 📌 0

HRANA update:

"The total number of reported civilian deaths stands at 1097, including 181 children under 18, with 880 reported deaths currently and under review"

www.en-hrana.org/the-fourth-d...

04.03.2026 01:38 👍 12 🔁 11 💬 0 📌 2
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U.S. and Israel Aggression, Iran Misdirected Self-Defense, and Gulf State Self-Defense U.S.-Israel attacks on Iran violate the UN Charter; Iran’s response breaches proportionality. Haque examines options for third-party states.

“The United States, Israel, and Iran, have each violated international law. The United Kingdom appears poised to join them.”
www.justsecurity.org/132894/us-is...

03.03.2026 17:03 👍 1 🔁 2 💬 1 📌 0

IDF attack on the Assembly of Experts made up of clerical leaders - This is a blatant war crime of attacking members of the civilian population who are not directly taking part in hostilities

03.03.2026 16:37 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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OpenAI amends Pentagon deal as Sam Altman admits it looks ‘sloppy’ ChatGPT owner’s CEO says it will bar its technology being used for mass surveillance or by intelligence services

OpenAI going back to Anthropic's red lines with US military - no mass surveillance of Americans (other nations OK?), no NSA and no autonomous weapons use- after backlash from public and employees

OpenAI amends Pentagon deal as Sam Altman admits it looks ‘sloppy’ www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

03.03.2026 14:10 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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Anthropic’s AI model Claude gets popularity boost after US military feud Claude climbs to top of app store charts in US and UK after being blacklisted by Pentagon over ethics concerns

Anthropic’s AI model Claude gets popularity boost after US military feud - like it has still be used in illegal wars that have killed civilians www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

03.03.2026 14:08 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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Iran human rights group HRANA:

"The total number of reported civilian deaths stands at 742, including 176 children under 18, with 624 reported deaths currently . under review"

"Reported civilian injuries since 28 February 2026 stand at 971, including 115 children"

www.en-hrana.org/the-third-da...

03.03.2026 02:03 👍 37 🔁 42 💬 1 📌 1
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No warning, no siren: six US service members killed in Iranian strike that hit makeshift operations center in Kuwait | CNN Politics The first US service members to die in the conflict between the US and Iran were killed by a direct Iranian strike on a makeshift operations center at a civilian port in Kuwait on Sunday morning local...

Seems like the Trump administration’s staggering idiocy just got six U.S. service members killed - who never got advance warning from their own leaders to take cover.

www.cnn.com/2026/03/02/p...

02.03.2026 22:38 👍 626 🔁 226 💬 23 📌 30

Day 3 of Operation Epstein Clusterfuck:

6 US troops dead, 3 F-15 jets downed, multiple allies bombed, multiple bases hit, several embassies attacked, and 500 -/+ civilians murdered (including over 100 little girls).

02.03.2026 22:39 👍 639 🔁 261 💬 30 📌 9
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South Sudan attack in Ruweng kills at least 169 people Peacekeepers are sheltering about 1,000 civilians near their base and providing emergency care.

#BBCNews - At least 169 people killed in South Sudan 'surprise' attack
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

02.03.2026 22:28 👍 2 🔁 6 💬 0 📌 0

The U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran are illegal.

Iran's attacks in Gulf States are illegal.

The U.K. defending Gulf States is legal, but allowing the U.S. to use its bases is illegal.

In short, everyone is violating international law and should stop.

My latest @justsecurity.org

02.03.2026 15:25 👍 148 🔁 55 💬 3 📌 6

So was this being used as a military objective by the IRGC? If not intentionally targeting of broadcasting facilities as civilian objects could potentially be a war crime #Iran

02.03.2026 22:17 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0