Iran Regime Remains Functional as Israel and U.S. Target Military Power
A residential building in Tehran collapsed after an airstrike, with rescue workers continuing the search for survivors as the incident drew international attention to the ongoing conflict.
A Wall Street Journal report, citing unnamed sources, said Israeli officials assess that the Iranian regime is unlikely to crumble in the near term. The Iranian military and political leadership remain functional, and anti-government protests have been restrained by security forces, according to the briefing.
In a press conference, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged uncertainty about whether the Iranian people will topple their government, suggesting that even if the regime does not fall, it would be weakened. He said Israel is working to create conditions that could allow Iranian citizens to challenge their leaders.
The Journal noted a strategic shift in Israeli objectives: rather than aiming to topple Iran outright, Israel is prioritizing actions intended to degrade Iran’s military capabilities to reduce threats to Israel. An Israeli military spokesperson described the aim as detecting and minimizing threats and isolating them as long as possible.
U.S. officials, according to the same reporting, are pursuing a more narrowly tailored set of goals: undermining Iran’s military power, constraining its nuclear program, and degrading its ballistic missile stockpiles or stores.
Iran has continued retaliatory actions despite the fighting. The Hormuz Strait remains effectively blocked, and vessels in the Persian Gulf and surrounding waters have been attacked. Attacks have also targeted facilities and partners in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, Mojtaba Khamenei, who became Iran’s new supreme leader after Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s death last month, said the country would not neglect revenge for martyrs and pledged to keep the Hormuz Strait closed.
Former Israeli defense officials have warned that removing the Iranian regime would not follow a simple formula and could take years. They cautioned that sustained military pressure could lay groundwork for unrest, but predicting the outcome remains uncertain. One former minister, Kidon Saar, emphasized that military power alone cannot topple a regime; it would require the Iranian public to act, potentially after a war.
Back home, internal discontent persists but the regime appears to be tightly managing demonstrations. Local accounts say the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and plainclothes militias are patrolling major cities, and authorities have warned of shoot-to-kill orders for those participating in protests.