In its early days of the sport, boxers fought with their bare fists. It was not until 1867 that the Queensbury rules required the wearing of gloves and abiding by certain rules to ensure a sportsman-like contest. Also in the 19th century, civilized nations recognized a need for providing guidelines on how combat should be fought on the world’s battlefields, issuing the laws of warfare. Interestingly, during our war with Iran, President Donald Trump took the unusual step of ensuring, initially at least, that the U.S. and Israel followed the Queensbury rules of warfare—but not anymore.
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A quick recap: Coordinating combat efforts with the U.S. against Iran as the conflict started on February 28 was Israel. As the war progressed, Trump became aware of a course of action upon which Israel was embarking that caused him some concerns. They involved Israel’s intention to eliminate Iran’s top negotiators, Abbas Araghchi—Tehran’s foreign minister—and Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf—its speaker of the Parliament.
Going after Iran’s top leaders was part of Israel’s gameplan from the outset, evidenced by its first air strike eliminating Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. By April, with ceasefire talks being conducted through third parties, Trump reportedly asked countries in West Asia to notify Iranian officials about Israel’s intentions.
Of course, that was then and now is now. Subsequent outrageous acts by Iran’s leadership have caused a reset of Trump’s mindset.
Recently, Iranian television aired a propaganda video titled, “Where to kill Barron Trump?” The mullahs, obviously lacking any interest in observing the laws of warfare, sought to terrorize Trump by declaring his son Barron a target. And, with their airforce, navy, and economy decimated, they offered a $10 million reward to anyone who killed him.
The video should come as no surprise as Iran released a disturbing video last month informing extremists on how to target First Lady Melania Trump, exposing her “weaknesses” and warning, “Barron, wait for us.”
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Arguably, the two Iranian officials Israel intended to target could have been considered legitimate as its objective was to topple the country’s hard-line government. However, when ceasefire negotiations started, the U.S. feared eliminating the two men would bring an end to the talks and re-trigger the fighting.
At Trump’s request, Israel took its bullseye off Araghchi and Ghalibaf. The two Iranian men had good reason to fear Israel’s long, and proven, reach. One of the two, Ghalibaf, had come close to getting killed on two occasions in 2025. Both times he had to be rescued from under the rubble of the destruction caused during Israeli air attacks. One of those even occurred during what he undoubtedly considered a safe time—a “secret” meeting Iranian officials were holding in an underground bunker. The strike was a clear indication of the capability of Israeli intelligence to track down targets if it chose to do so.
But, in light of Iran’s second video to target a Trump family member, the president has now officially taken off the gloves. He has publicly declared Iran’s leadership is fair game.
We have finally come to accept a principle of warfare Israel recognized long ago: a fair fight against the mullahs involves tossing all rules out the window.
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Image generated by ChatGPT.