(RNS) — Since the war with Iran began, President Donald Trump has directed threats and insults at Iran and its leaders. He warned that he would destroy Iranian civilization and infrastructure and would blockade its ports. He called Iranian leaders “crazy bastards,” “sick people” and “lunatics” on Truth Social. While some of his ultimatums are particularly severe, this rhetoric is familiar. What is striking to me is the fact that he and other Republican leaders seem to be angered by the fact that Iran — a sovereign country that, according to some legal scholars, was attacked in violation of the U.S. Constitution and the U.N. charter — has retaliated. While the narrative about the reasons for this war has been inconsistent, one of the justifications for the U.S.-Israeli attack is that it was a preemptive strike to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, following repeated allegations that Iran was rebuilding its nuclear program.…