Trump's framing of war as Iran's barbarism vs civilised West is a huge lie

Trump's framing of war as Iran's barbarism vs civilised West is a huge lie Submitted by Peter Oborne on Wed, 04/08/2026 - 08:49 In US-Israeli discourse, Iran is a monolithically evil country that represents the antithesis of progress - this flawed analysis explains how Tehran has outwitted its opponents at every turn Two female university students pose for a selfie on graduation day outside the University of Tehran, 15 September 2025 (Atta Kenare/AFP) On Two conceptual fallacies lie at the heart of the illegal American - Israeli assault on Iran . The first is the idea that Iran is a barbaric country, stuck in the Middle Ages, and incapable of fitting in with the modern world. As Trump put it when asked why striking Iranian bridges and power plants would not be a war crime.