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Off Air with Ron Chapman
Off Air explores the nation’s most important legal headlines with depth and context you won’t find in mainstream media.
Hosted by Attorney and TV news analyst Ron Chapman, Off Air brings real courtroom experience to the stories shaping the country. Neil Cavuto has called Chapman an “attorney extraordinaire,” and a federal judge described him as “one of the best attorneys I’ve seen in my 20 years on the bench.”
With more than 175 acquitted counts in federal cases, Chapman delivers real-world insight and rigorous legal analysis on the cases that matter most.
Off Air with Ron Chapman
The Iran Warship Strike: War or War Crime?
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On March 4th, 2026, a U.S. submarine sank the Iranian warship IRIS Dena in international waters. Federal criminal defense attorney and former Marine Corps officer Ron Chapman breaks down whether it was a lawful military strike or a war crime under U.S. and international law.
Ron has analyzed law of armed conflict violations in the field — this is not outside commentary. He walks through the War Powers Act, maritime law, and the targeting standards that governed every decision in that chain of command.
This episode covers:
- The War Powers Act and the legal justification for the strike
- International objections to the Dena sinking, including from Swiss officials
- What qualifies a vessel as a valid military target under maritime law
- Why the Nuremberg defense protects no one in the chain of command
- What the documented legal analysis behind a strike of this scale looks like
If you want to understand what the law actually requires in a moment like this, this episode provides the framework.
Key Takeaways:
00:00 Intro
01:00 The Dena sinking: what happened on March 4th, 2026
02:14 International law objections to the strike
03:00 US justification: war powers and active hostilities
04:04 How military commanders assess a valid target
05:00 The Nuremberg defense and personal legal accountability
06:28 The paper trail behind every weapon release
07:00 What a law of armed conflict investigation looks like
08:16 My Lai, Abu Ghraib, and lessons from LOAC history
09:12 Ron's legal verdict on the Dena strike
Additional Resources:
Official website: https://ronaldwchapman.com/
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https://ronaldwchapman.substack.com/
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