The US and Israel, whose stated aim is regime change — notwithstanding Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s prevarication Monday that “this is not a regime change war, but the regime sure did change” — seem to be betting on intensive airstrikes while exhorting the Iranian people to complete it on the ground. This is particularly so in Iran, where powerful institutions are controlled by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Trump’s America may be about to learn that removing a leader as powerful as Khamenei is not the same thing as reshaping a country’s future. While its action in Iran appears, especially, to be an escalation without a plan, this is a lesson that America has failed to learn even earlier. The question, then, is whether the US and Israel have waged a war without a plan for the day after, one that risks breaking a country and leaving recovery and repair steeped in uncertainty.

Source: Indian Express March 03, 2026 11:06 UTC