Trump and Hegseth Treat War with Iran Like a Power Play, Ignoring Devastation and Legal Boundaries

In a stunning display of callousness and bravado, former President Donald Trump and his self-styled “secretary of war,” Pete Hegseth, have turned the ongoing conflict with Iran into a theatrical game of threats and military might. Following Trump’s incendiary vow to wipe Iran’s “whole civilization” off the map, Hegseth praised the administration’s brutal military campaign—dubbed Operation Epic Fury—for decimating Iranian military and industrial infrastructure, while ominously listing future targets that include power plants, bridges, and energy facilities. Such deliberate destruction of civilian infrastructure is a textbook war crime, yet Hegseth lauded Trump’s “mercy” in sparing these targets—for now.

This reckless rhetoric and action have come at a horrific human cost: thousands of Iranians and 13 American soldiers dead, widespread destruction of schools, hospitals, and mosques, and economic losses estimated at $40 billion for the US and up to $200 billion for Gulf nations. Yet, the Trump administration’s narrative frames these atrocities as a successful strategy that forced Iran to the negotiating table. The reality is far grimmer. Iran’s Supreme National Security Council has made clear its readiness to retaliate if attacked again, underscoring that the ceasefire is fragile and temporary.

The political response within the US has been disturbingly muted. Aside from a handful of Republicans like Rep. Nathaniel Moran, who publicly rejected the idea of destroying an entire civilization, most GOP lawmakers have stayed silent or avoided labeling the conflict as a war. This semantic dodge allows the administration to bypass the constitutional requirement that only Congress can declare war, leaving critical decisions about life, death, and national security unchecked.

Hegseth’s claim that the US military has achieved “every single objective” is contradicted by observers noting the failure to eliminate Iran’s nuclear capacity—the stated goal of the campaign. The administration’s lack of clear objectives or a coherent plan provides dangerous flexibility to escalate violence without accountability.

Meanwhile, the Iranian people, already battered by brutal regime crackdowns, find themselves abandoned by the US, which has shifted from any pretense of supporting Iranian resistance to unleashing overwhelming military force. As an anonymous Iranian poet lamented, they stand “doubly alone,” caught between foreign invasion and domestic repression.

The ceasefire’s instability is evident as Israel’s ongoing assault on Lebanon threatens to unravel the fragile peace. Trump’s attempts to moderate Israel’s actions have been ignored, and tensions in the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz persist. Despite these risks, Trump boasts about potential financial windfalls from the conflict and muses about “joint ventures” with Iran—revealing that profit and self-interest remain tangled with deadly geopolitics.

This administration’s approach to war is not just reckless; it is a dangerous cocktail of authoritarian posturing, disregard for international law, and cynical exploitation of conflict for personal gain. The American public and Congress must demand transparency, accountability, and a return to lawful governance before more lives are lost and democratic norms are further eroded.