#overthrow

#Trump’s #Iranian campaign: an #illegal #war that risks becoming the new normal. The #usisraeli military action will test the fragile rules governing the use of force. The killing of #Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, by a US-Israeli strike is a targeted #assassination of a head of state. It also marks a grave escalation in a region already burdened with smouldering wars and fragile states. The consequences of the deliberate strike will reverberate across a #MiddleEast marked by the aftershocks of foreign intervention. Revulsion against the hardline regime in Tehran, or the desire for a better future for the Iranian people, does not confer a legal justification. Force is lawful, under the UN charter, only in self-defence against an imminent attack or with security council approval. Neither condition has been met. There was no evidence of an “instant, overwhelming” Iranian attack being prepared. What Trump’s #OperationEpicFury looks like is not pre-emption but prevention: a decision to eliminate a future risk while an enemy appeared weak. It is a war of choice. Mr Trump’s call to #overthrow a #sovereign government was extraordinary. Unlike pre-emptive wars, preventive ones are deemed #unlawful because they grant the powerful licence to #strikeatwill. The distinction is important; it is why many European governments rejected #Russia’s justification of its invasion of #Ukraine by claiming to head off a future threat. Law cannot be optional for allies and binding only for adversaries. The domestic foundations of Trump’s action are also shaky. There’s little public support in the US for this #attack, and #Congress was not asked to #authorise #hostilities. There will be even less appetite as the #civiliandeath toll mounts and #USsoldiers come home in #bodybags. #uspol #TrumpRegime #RogueNation #auspol https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/mar/01/the-guardian-view-on-trumps-iranian-campaign-an-war-that-risks-becoming-the-new-normal