Trump’s War on Iran and the Erosion of Moral Restraint in Warfare

Sun, 12 Apr 2026 17:22:00 +0200

The article examines former U.S. President Donald Trump’s statements and decisions surrounding the escalating conflict with Iran in early April 2026. It opens with Trump’s controversial justification for bombing Iranian infrastructure, where he refers to Iranians as “animals” and dismisses accusations of war crimes. The author argues that this language echoes historical patterns of dehumanization that precede mass violence, drawing comparisons to slavery, the Holocaust, and other genocidal episodes. The piece describes the structure of Trump’s administration as one filled with obedient loyalists rather than qualified leaders, with particular focus on Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, portrayed as a symbol of militaristic populism and religious zeal disconnected from professional military ethics. The article further alleges that Trump’s decisions were heavily influenced by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who saw American intervention in