Over the weekend, with the Iran ceasefire set to expire Wednesday, April 22nd, Trump's US Ambassador to the United Nations Michael Waltz went from one Sunday morning news program to another, being confronted with the same questions about targeting Iranian infrastructure. Talks between the US and Iran are happening today in Islamabad, Pakistan — and the clock is ticking.
On Meet the Press, Waltz was asked about negotiations with Iran about opening up the Strait of Hormuz and preventing them from further developing their nuclear program.
His response to Kristen Welker's question about Trump knocking out every single power plant and every single bridge in Iran, if there's no deal made, followed by "no more Mr. Nice Guy," was:
"He is prepared to escalate to de-escalate this conflict, as he should be. But I just want to get ahead of this other ridiculous and frankly irresponsible narrative that this would somehow constitute a, quote, “war crime,” that we’ve heard from Democratic politicians, the media, and others in the international community. That is wrong. It’s irresponsible."
The fact that Ambassador Waltz is so touchy about their targeting of Iranian infrastructure — and therefore civilians — with bombs being considered a war crime, really showed us how far this administration is willing to go.
Targeting Civilians on The Table
Embed from Getty ImagesHe went further in his response to say that there's already been a history of taking out infrastructure that powers Iran's military but, also gave this response a pass by saying:
"And they have a long history of conflating civilian and military assets including hiding weapons caches – – rockets and military hardware in schools, hospitals, and other civilian neighborhoods – – which is a war crime on Iran’s part. So, we just need to knock that down and stop that irresponsible rhetoric."
There has long been an excuse made to hit civilian targets when it's believed that the enemy is returning fire from civilian buildings, essentially holding them hostage. We've heard this argument before — and recently. It's the same justification applied to Gaza. Same playbook, same language, different country. The enemy hides behind civilians, therefore the civilians are fair game. That's the argument. That's always been the argument.
Kristen Welker tried to make the point that even Iranians who oppose the regime — civilians who want nothing to do with the IRGC — would be the ones left without power, without water, without bridges. Waltz's answer was essentially: trust us. The Pentagon will make sure we only hit the right stuff. The same Pentagon run by Pete "shit for brains" Hegseth, who told us the Strait of Hormuz was "open" while Iran was actively firing at ships trying to pass through it. That Pentagon.
Jon Mark
Same Excuse, Different War
Here's what's worth saying plainly: Amnesty International warned that targeting Iran's energy and transport network could cause catastrophic consequences for more than 90 million people. The UN Secretary General said an attack on energy infrastructure "from either side could constitute a war crime." More than 100 international law experts signed an open letter calling the opening US attacks on Iran a clear violation of the United Nations Charter.
And Trump's response to all of that? He said he was "not at all" concerned about war crimes accusations.
This is the same administration that watched Israel use the human shields argument to justify the destruction of Gaza — the same argument Waltz is now recycling for Iran. The pattern isn't subtle. Find a civilian building with a weapons cache — or claim there is one — and suddenly every power plant, every bridge, every hospital with a generator, every water desalination plant tied to the grid becomes a legitimate military target. Ninety million people become collateral damage in a conflict their own foreign minister was trying to negotiate a way out of.
The Orange shitbag told us he wanted to de-escalate. Waltz told us bombing every power plant in Iran is how you de-escalate. The ceasefire expires Wednesday. Talks are happening today in Islamabad. And Trump is on Truth Social threatening to knock out every single bridge.
That's not diplomacy backed by military power. That's a hostage negotiation where the hostage is an entire country's civilian population — and the guy holding the gun keeps telling you to stop calling it a gun.