Photo: Amir Kholousi/ISNA/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERSAn international relations academic says he does not foresee swift and peaceful regime change occurring in Iran if "the United States and Israel continue to bomb the country". The United States and Israel launched the most ambitious attack on Iran in decades on Saturday, and US President Donald Trump said Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had been killed in the operation. Photo: ODT files"The US has struck because it perceives that the regime in Iran was very weak and vulnerable but there's a danger that it will resuscitate the regime by attacking Iran. Many Iranians that hated the Iraqi Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq subsequently participated in an insurgency against American presence." "I'm not sure that's going to happen — and even if they do, they will want to make sure that it's not America calling the shots and determining their future.

Source: Otago Daily Times March 01, 2026 00:23 UTC