Trump Says He Brought 'Justice' To Iran. His War Boosts Fears The U.S. Has Gone Rogue.

The administration’s latest escalation is boosting the global view of the U.S. as a rogue actor, fueling instability, acting illogically and illegally and risking innocent lives.

Roughly twelve hours after he launched a war on Iran early Saturday morning, President Donald Trump said his military campaign had killed the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

“This is not only Justice for the people of Iran, but for all Great Americans, and those people from many Countries throughout the World, that have been killed or mutilated by Khamenei,” the president wrote on Truth Social.

But Trump’s effort to frame his war of choice as just and worthy of international celebration is a long shot. Instead, the administration’s latest military escalation is boosting a perception globally that could permanently and significantly hurt America’s and Americans’ role in the world: the view of the U.S. as a rogue actor, fueling instability, acting illogically and even illegally and risking innocent lives.

For all the questions remaining about the offensive – How long will it go on? Does the U.S. have a plan to replace the regime if it falls? Is there any remaining hope for de-escalation? A further degradation of America’s image abroad, including among its traditional allies, is one of few certainties.

“Even before today, the pattern was clear: this is a state that actively disregards international law and its protections for civilians, which makes civilians – makes children, makes pregnant mothers, make people who have nothing to do with geopolitical aims at all – less safe everywhere: in Gaza, in Canada, in Europe, in Asia,” said Mark Kersten, a professor at the University of the Fraser Valley in Canada. “Even in America itself, because international law is an important way to protect people in their own countries.”