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On Saturday, the United States and Israel launched a coordinated military assault on Iran, striking targets across Iranian cities. Iran’s Supreme Leader since 1989, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in the strike, as confirmed by Iran’s state media. Dozens of senior officials died, as well.

I’m deeply outraged and disturbed by these recent headlines. This isn’t just a crisis, but a reminder of Western intrusion and the long-lasting, atrocious effects of military intervention.

The Iranian government has since declared 40 days of public mourning and described the killing as martyrdom. President Donald Trump responded on social media by celebrating Khamenei’s murder, calling it “justice” and promising the bombing campaign would continue until his goals were met.

This joint operation, celebrated by the U.S. and Israeli governments as a strategic victory, reveals a staggering sense of entitlement. There’s abhorrent arrogance in believing the most powerful military alliance in the world has the right to bomb a sovereign nation into submission — and then openly cheer its leader’s death on social media.

The rhetoric of “justice” and “peace” as labels for force is dangerously reminiscent of old imperial thinking. It reflects the white savior complex on a geopolitical scale, which has repeatedly failed ordinary civilians in the........

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