Saturday, 05 July 2025

Open Letter to the Swiss Federal Council: Neutrality – Switzerland’s Failure to Condemn Israel’s Attack on Iran


Dear Members of the Swiss Federal Council,

In the early hours of June 13, 2025, Israel launched a massive war of aggression in violation of international law by launching missile strikes against the Islamic Republic of Iran, targeting Iranian nuclear facilities, killing hundreds of people, and destroying important infrastructure in Tehran and other Iranian cities.

In doing so, Israel – a member of the UN – violated Article 2 of the UN Charter, a clear breach of international law.

Iran responded by exercising its right to self-defense in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter. The war continues to this day.

The EDA (Swiss Foreign Ministry) writes that it condemns “any use of force that violates the Charter of the United Nations and international law” and calls for “a return to the path of dialogue.” However, there is no clear explicit condemnation of Israel’s war of aggression against Iran on the Swiss Foreign Ministry’s website.

This is disturbing. In contrast, the EDA reacted sharply on October 7 [2023]:

“Switzerland condemns today’s rocket fire by Hamas and the attacks from the Gaza Strip on Israel.”

The EDA also immediately and clearly condemned Russia’s intervention in Ukraine’s Donbass region on February 24, 2022.

Worst of all, however, is that the Federal Council has adopted all the sanctions against Russia passed on to Brussels by the US without any reason that affects Switzerland.

Are these differing positions what the Federal Council understands by “flexibilization of neutrality”?

For reasons of neutrality, you MUST take the same approach to Israel’s unjustified attack. It MUST be condemned by neutral Switzerland.

Israel describes its war of aggression, which violates international law, as a “preemptive strike” because Iran is allegedly developing a nuclear bomb.

According to the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which has regularly inspected Iran since the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) negotiated between 2013 and 2015, Iran is complying with the rules. The IAEA has repeatedly confirmed that Iran has no intention of building nuclear weapons, but wants to use nuclear energy for civilian purposes.

We urge you to take the necessary measures and condemn Israel’s aggressive actions against Iran, which are contrary to international law.

Sincerely

Swiss Movement for Neutrality

***

Postscript:

BENE.Swiss is a newly created movement in Switzerland attempting to restore Swiss Neutrality to what it once was, when Switzerland was able to offer her good services to mediate between conflicting parties. Today this is hardly the case. The above Open Letter to the Swiss Government is just one indication.

BENE is the German acronym for Bewegung fuer eine Neutrale Schweiz (Movement for a Neutral Switzerland).

Over the past years, Switzerland has drifted ever closer to NATO and the European Union which is basically a sister organization to NATO. BENE defends the idea that Neutrality – and active Neutrality – is a precursor to Peace. A Neutral Nation distances itself from participating in conflicts and wars.

A People’s Referendum to integrate Swiss Neutrality into the Swiss Constitution is likely coming to a public vote within a year. BENE is actively promoting the people’s acceptance of this referendum.

The focus in Swiss Neutrality is based on a myriad of conditions and arguments, including: (i) Swiss Neutrality is lasting, anchored in the Swiss Constitution; (ii) Switzerland will not join any Military or Defense Association, i.e. NATO; (iii) Switzerland does not participate in military conflicts between countries, and does not take over “sanctions” imposed on countries by third parties. Exceptions may be sanctions issued by the United Nations; (iv) Switzerland applies her Neutrality, by offering her Good Services (international diplomacy) for the prevention of, or mediation for solutions of conflicts – and many more.

Since its creation in 1949, NATO has been involved in dozens of conflicts and wars around the world; Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Ukraine, Syria, Somalia, Sudan, Yugoslavia – to name just a few, causing the death of at least an estimated 30 million people.

Neutrality is Peace – NATO is war.

BENE’s other major objective is internationalizing the Neutrality movement, by creating a network of countries that are seeking Peace through Neutrality.

If you have already such a movement for Neutrality in your country, or would like to create one, or a are interested in knowing more about BENE and Neutrality in general, please contact BENE through the website, or write BENE through the website https://bene.swiss.

And remember: Neutrality is Peace – NATO is war.

*

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Peter Koenig is a geopolitical analyst, regular author for Global Research, and a former Economist at the World Bank and the World Health Organization (WHO), where he worked for over 30 years around the world. He is the author of Implosion – An Economic Thriller about War, Environmental Destruction and Corporate Greed; and co-author of Cynthia McKinney’s book “When China Sneezes: From the Coronavirus Lockdown to the Global Politico-Economic Crisis” (Clarity Press – November 1, 2020).

Peter is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG). He is also a non-resident Senior Fellow of the Chongyang Institute of Renmin University, Beijing.

Featured image is from Keystone / Lukas Lehmann

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