A war on Iran, driven primarily by the US and Israel, would expose a deep contradiction: the selective application of international law by those who claim to defend it. If this conflict ends not with diplomacy but with Iran’s total destruction—a modern-day Masada—it would raise profound questions about our world.
Western leaders have long invoked a “rules-based international order” as the foundation of global stability. Yet, as war against Iran escalates, these same governments hesitate to apply those rules. Instead of condemnation, we hear rationalizations. Some European leaders have even suggested that international law should not necessarily protect Iran, implying that legal protections can be selectively suspended. This logic undermines the very system Europe claims to defend. International law, enshrined in the UN Charter, prohibits force against another state except in self-defense or with Security Council approval. It was designed to prevent wars of conquest.
Despite this, the bombing of Iran is widely defended in Western discourse as necessary. Some argue it serves the cause of stability or democracy. This is a dangerous assumption: that democracy gives governments moral immunity from war’s consequences. Bombs are not more humane simply because they are dropped by elected officials. Democracy was meant to impose moral limits on power, not legitimize violence against civilians.
Now, If Iran falls like Masada, The consequences will not be confined to the battlefield. The Persian Gulf, through which one-fifth of the world’s oil passes, is a chokepoint. War there is never local. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz would send economic shocks across the globe. Energy prices would surge, supply chains would fracture, and inflation would spread rapidly.
Countries far from the conflict would suffer severe consequences. Ethiopia, which imports nearly all its petroleum, would face higher costs, currency pressure, and rising inflation. A prolonged disruption would increase the cost of fuel, food, and transportation, devastating millions already struggling with living costs. This reveals the absurdity: a war justified in the name of democracy and security could destabilize economies thousands of kilometers away, nations with no role in the conflict.
This is what selective international law produces: wars with global consequences, controlled by a few powerful governments. If Iran is destroyed by overwhelming force, the precedent will be clear. International law will no longer restrain power; power will determine when law matters.
Today the exception is Iran. Tomorrow it could be anyone. Western governments warn about authoritarian states ignoring international norms, yet by selectively applying those norms themselves, they weaken the system they claim to defend. The credibility of international law depends on consistency. If rules apply only to adversaries while allies receive exemptions, they cease to be law and become instruments of political convenience.
Democracy does not resolve this. Elections do not transform war into justice. Parliamentary approval does not make civilian casualties moral. Democratic governments remain capable of catastrophic decisions. The true test of democracy is not whether it can mobilize armies, but whether it can restrain power.
If the war ends with Iran reduced to ruins, the world will face a troubling possibility: the greatest danger to the rules-based order may not be its enemies, but those who claim to defend it.
