The recent escalation in missile exchanges between Israel and Iran has refocused attention on the legal status of cluster munitions, a weapon category often defined more by its controversy than its technical utility. While Israel has characterized recent Iranian strikes as war crimes, the legal reality is governed not by a blanket ban, but by the application of customary international law.Neither Israel nor Iran is a party to the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM), meaning they are not