Trump: “Khamenei, one of the most diabolical men in history, is dead. This is not only justice for the people of Iran, but also for all great Americans, as well as for people from many countries around the world who were killed or maimed by Khamenei and his gang of bloodthirsty THUGS.”
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Our era does not suffer only from conflicts.
It suffers from the confusion of words and principles.
When “justice” becomes identical with power,
when “peace” is proclaimed by the heavily armed,
when “morality” is applied selectively,
then the issue is not merely who governs.
It is which standards we accept as normal.
History will record the events.
Time will assess the leaders.
But the responsibility of thought —
remains ours.
There are moments when History does not struggle with how it will judge, but with how it will phrase its judgment. This is a matter of wording, not of substance. Let us choose the following formulation.
The “Ayatollah-ism” of Iran has been the curse of an ancient civilization thousands of years old — the Persian civilization — which, in many periods and expressions, stood out for its breadth and influence among the civilizations of the ancient Eastern peoples. However, to be fair, we must also point out that not only Islamic clericalism, but the global priesthood — especially of Christianity — has been a curse for planetary civilization for centuries.
History teaches a rule: wherever priesthoods and popular power not only coexist but where the former wear not only the “robe” but also the “judicial gown,” tyranny becomes even worse. The Ayatollahs of Iran are one of the many proofs of this in our era.
For this reason, we do not mourn the loss of a butcher of 17-year-old girls whose “great crime” was wearing their headscarves improperly. That is one truth.
But there is also the other side of the coin. For Donald Trump to come out and execute the leader of another country — even if History considers him one of the great criminals among contemporary rulers — and to call him “diabolical,” would be laughable if it were not provocative, deceitful and pharisaical.
Especially when, at the same time, the American president:
a. Considers as a friend and admires as worthy one of the bloodiest leaders in modern history, Putin — the “New Hitler of Russia” — with the blood and tears of millions on his hands.
b. Also calls the war criminal Netanyahu a patriot, a loyal friend and ally, with whom today, after the genocide in Gaza, he is carrying out “dirty work” in Iran.
c. Shows indifference toward the grave crimes of other leaders such as Kim Jong Un and numerous dictators and tyrants across the globe.
If this is so, then the words of all languages on the planet have lost their real meaning. And the natural and moral principles determined by human reason are violently abused and insulted — even more so when this comes from the leader of a superpower, arrogant and self-exalting, who calls himself a peacemaker, while being morally complicit in many of the crimes we see committed today against individuals, peoples and nations.
Diotima, with her clear judgment, may now take the floor.
Dioτima:
Power, Morality and the Language of “Justice.
Political assassinations, regime violence and retaliatory rhetoric are not new phenomena in history. What is new is the speed and theatricality with which global leaders frame such acts as “justice.”
When a head of state declares the killing of another state’s leader as moral vindication, the act ceases to be merely geopolitical. It becomes symbolic power: the assertion that one nation claims the authority to define good and evil beyond its borders.
Theocratic rule in Iran has undeniably suppressed freedoms, persecuted dissent and enforced religious authority through state violence. That reality must be acknowledged without hesitation.
However, moral consistency demands a broader lens.
Selective indignation weakens ethical credibility. When leaders condemn one authoritarian regime while maintaining strategic alliances with others accused of severe human rights violations, the language of morality becomes instrumental rather than principled.
International politics often operates not on universal ethics but on interests, alliances and leverage. Yet the rhetoric used — words such as “evil,” “justice,” “freedom” — still shapes global perception. When those words are applied inconsistently, public trust in moral discourse erodes.
The deeper issue is not only the fall of one authoritarian figure. It is the normalization of a world order where powerful states reserve to themselves the right to eliminate adversaries while speaking in the language of virtue.
History does not only judge outcomes.
It judges coherence.
And coherence requires that principles apply equally — to allies and adversaries alike.
A world becomes safer not merely when individual rulers disappear, but when power is restrained by consistent standards rather than shifting interests.