In the current confrontation between the United States, Israel and Iran, the shift is both remarkable and unmistakable. The vocabulary of international politics has hardened into insult. Iranian leaders are described as “deranged scumbags”. At a Pentagon briefing, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth suggested Iran’s leadership was “desperate and hiding”, adding: “That’s what rats do.” The language may energize domestic audiences, but it signals something more consequential: a redefinition of the enemy.
Yet this erosion did not begin in Washington. It has deeper roots. Following the 1979 revolution, Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ruhollah Khomeini, routinely described the United States as the “Great Satan” and Israel as the “Little Satan”, framing them not simply as adversaries but as embodiments of evil. The language was theological, absolute and deliberately dehumanizing.