The phrase “world order” is now close to ceremonial. It is invoked after each war, while the institutions meant to defend it are bypassed by the state with the larger arsenal.
US President Donald Trump’s April warning that “a whole civilisation will die tonight” was not loose campaign talk. It was issued during war, tied to a deadline, and linked to demands over the Strait of Hormuz. Reuters later reported that Trump agreed to a two-week ceasefire less than two hours before that deadline.
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Iran war and the nuclear claim
Iran is not a liberal democracy. Its rulers have suppressed protest, run down their own economy, and used regional proxies as instruments of power. That indictment is serious. It still does not give another state the right to threaten Iran’s people or force a change of government by bombing.
The nuclear claim also needs care. IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said that there was no evidence of Iran building a nuclear bomb. He also said Iran’s stockpile of near-weapons-grade enriched uranium and refusal to give inspectors full access remained serious concerns. That is a warning for inspection and diplomacy. It is not a licence for civilisational threats.
UN Charter and unilateral force
The UN Charter was written for such moments. Article 2(4) of the Charter bars threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state. Article 51 allows self-defence only in case of armed attacks, until the UN Security Council acts.
The Security Council has always had a design flaw. The veto gives five powers protection against the law they helped write. Yet the UN remains the only universal forum where small and large states can put a grievance before the world. Its weakness is not an argument for unilateral war. It is a reason to defend the few restraints that still exist.
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Strait of Hormuz and civilian cost
The interim US-Iran accord has failed to restore normalcy around the Strait of Hormuz. France and Britain were discussing a maritime mission with Gulf states, while diplomats accepted that any durable arrangement would require Iranian consent. The strait normally carries around one-fifth of the world’s crude oil trade.
Wars that begin with military language soon reach bridges, power plants, ports, refineries and homes. Amnesty International said Trump’s threats against Iran’s power plants and bridges raised fears of unlawful attacks on civilian infrastructure. Reuters reported that US and Israeli strikes had hit bridges, an airport, a petrochemical plant and Kharg Island, Iran’s main oil export terminal.
The method has changed from armies crossing borders to missiles, drones, sanctions, cyber systems and precision strikes. The result is still broken cities and civilian suffering. Gaza has already shown what follows claims of victory. UN-linked assessments put reconstruction needs near $70 billion, while UNDP work has had to begin with rubble clearance.
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World order needs restraint
The first repair must come from democracies themselves. An elected leader cannot be allowed to threaten another people and still claim the language of democratic legitimacy. National pride, whether American, Iranian, Israeli, Russian, Chinese, Hindu, Christian, Islamic or any other, becomes destructive when it treats another society as dispensable.
Borders may be necessary for administration and political responsibility. They cannot become walls against human sympathy. Sovereignty means little if powerful states claim it for themselves and deny it to others.
A world parliament will sound utopian to many. So did much of the UN idea before the Second World War made old sovereignty unbearable. The present system cannot restrain great powers when they choose exemption. A representative world forum with limited authority over aggression, nuclear threats and crimes against civilians would not end war. It would at least deny powerful states the comfort of acting without answer.
Peace will not come from speeches about humanity. It will come when threats of extermination carry political, legal and diplomatic cost. Until then, the world order will continue to exist in communiqués and fail in war.
Dr KR Antony is a public health activist and development practitioner served UNICEF earlier.