Justin Bieber -- Tweaking Orlando Makes Me Look Bad Ass

Justin Bieber is rubbing Orlando Bloom's nose in their Ibiza war not because he's angry, but because he thinks it makes him look hard ... and we're getting this from people who are around him right now.

Here's what we're being told ... Justin's story is that he had no ax to grind with Orlando when he saw him at Cipriani restaurant before the clash. Justin insists he didn't even recognize Orlando and simply extended his hand. Bieber was pissed that Orlando rebuffed him.

Now here's the thing. Bieber quickly realized the public resoundingly believed Justin won the "fight" ... and that's when he decided he could up his tough game by humiliating Orlando with pics of Miranda on Instagram. It was all about looking tough.

When people started saying Bieber was bad ass for posting the pic ... he upped his game with the pic of a weepy Orlando.

One source said Justin is "irrational" in the glee he's taking over the scuffle.

Bottom line -- we're told he's loving this ... having a great time in Ibiza. And he thinks it's cool that people think he banged Orlando's then-wife and still won the war.