U.S.-Israeli Strikes Entrench Hardline Iran Regime

A U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran, launched on February 28, 2026, with airstrikes that killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, has instead entrenched a more hardline regime in Tehran, complicating efforts to end the conflict and heightening risks of regional escalation. The operation, named Epic Fury, targeted senior Iranian officials in hopes of prompting regime change or more pragmatic leadership, but the resulting power vacuum has elevated radical figures, including Khamenei's son, Mojtaba Khamenei, as the new Supreme Leader.

The war, now in its third month, has shifted Iran's political landscape toward greater control by hardliners with deep ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Many new leaders in political and security roles have histories of supporting aggressive policies, sidelining moderate voices that once pushed for diplomatic engagement. Domestically, the regime has intensified suppression of dissent, including arrests, executions, and lethal force against the 2026 Iranian Uprising, the largest protest movement since 1979. Analysts describe this as a militarized governance structure, with IRGC factions adopting a doctrine of disproportionate...