Trumps strike on Iran signals a shift toward a more volatile world order, where power increasingly overrides restraint, writesGerry Sont.

THE WALL. The tariffs. The kidnapping. Greenland. And now the assassination of a foreign leader.

U.S. PresidentDonald Trumpappears increasingly unrestrained unshackled from convention, untempered by advisers, unchained from the normal guardrails of governance.

For many watching from afar, the question is no longer whether the world is destabilising, but how far we are from the brink. World War III no longer feels like dystopian fiction but more like a headline waiting to be printed.

Only days ago, Ukrainian PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyytold theBBCthat Putin has started World War III. If that is so, then Trump is now pulling up a chair at the same table.

Iranian drone strikes on Gulf data centres show the clouds physical infrastructure is becoming a new target in modern conflict.

The assassination and subsequent attack in Iran were met by celebrations by the Iranian community in Hyde Park and by anti-Israel protesters chanting death to the IDF in Melbournes CBD.

But why now? We were told last year that Irans bunkers had been neutralised that nothing remained. So why escalate now?

David Smith, Associate Professor of American Politics and Foreign Policy at the University of Sydney, explains:

A pre-emptive decapitation strike is a tactic associated with Israeli military doctrine used effectively in the 1967Six-Day War, the1981 strikeon Iraqs nuclear reactor, and the2007 destructionof Syrias suspected nuclear facility. The logic is brutal but simple: remove the head and the body falters.

But was it regime change or something else? In the hours after the attack, Trump was urging Iranians to rise up and seize control of the government. That, however, already appears unrealistic.

As the Iran conflict escalates, religious rhetoric from claims of divine missions to apocalyptic prophecy is increasingly shaping the language and politics of war.

Smith continues:

Russian PresidentVladimir Putinquicklycondemnedthe assassination as a preplanned and unprovoked act of armed aggression against a sovereign state. The irony is unmistakable. Smith believes Putins condemnation is designed to emphasise what Moscow calls Western hypocrisy over Ukraine.

This attack on Iran also creates a convenient precedent for Chinese PresidentXi Jinping, who may now argue that great powers act first and justify later. Numerous analysts have warned that sustained U.S. operations in Iran could deplete critical ammunition stockpiles, potentially limiting Americas capacity to defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion.

For decades, the United States has been regarded as the worlds policeman. That perception is shifting. DrEmily Crawford, Professor of International Law at the University of Sydney, argues:

Surely Trump is now as reckless as Putin?

On a historic night in Tehran, almost half a century ago, Jeff McMullen witnessed the inability of leaders to fully grasp the treacherous paths of alliances and armed conflicts.

Crawford responds:

Two international principles are now under strain. Comity the mutual respect between sovereign states depends on restraint and recognition of sovereignty.

Perfidy, under international humanitarian law, refers to betraying protected status during armed conflict, such as feigning surrender or misuse of protected symbols.

If indirect peace talks were underway in Oman at the time of the strike, as reported byAl Jazeera, critics will argue this represents a profound breach of diplomatic good faith. Whether the assignation meets the strict legal definition of perfidy is debatable but politically, the perception is corrosive.

There are two ways to interpret this moment. The world has just become significantly more dangerous, or Trump volatile, ambitious and seemingly unchained has decided that the rules binding others do not bind him.

Regardless, Putin and Xi Jinping have been put on notice there is another wily player at the table of global avarice.

Gerry Sonthas been an actor, TV presenter and teacher for the past 35 years.

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