Are embassies off-limits? Ecuadorian and Israeli actions suggest otherwise − and that sets a dangerous diplomatic precedent

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Jorge Heine, Boston University

(THE CONVERSATION) It has long been held that embassies should be treated as “off-limits” to other nations. Yet in a single week, two governments – both long-established democracies – stand accused of violating, in different ways, the laws surrounding foreign diplomatic missions.

First, on April 1, 2024, Iran’s embassy in Damascus was bombed, presumably by Israel, killing several high-ranking commanders of the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Then, on April 5, Ecuadorian police forced their way into the Mexican Embassy in Quito to arrest a former vice president of Ecuador who was seeking political asylum.

Both actions have led to claims of international law violationsand accusations that the Vienna Convention, which establishes the immunity of diplomatic missions, was contravened.

As someone with a fair amount of knowledge of embassy life – I have served as Chile’s...