Overview
- The U.S.–Israeli assault set three goals — topple Iran’s rulers, curb its regional power, and eliminate its nuclear program — yet the theocracy endured and adapted.
- The strike killed the Supreme Leader, after which his son Mojtaba Khamenei, tied closely to the Revolutionary Guard, took control and signaled a more hardline rule.
- Airstrikes destroyed parts of Iran’s navy, air force, and missile sites, but Iran attacked neighbors and learned to throttle the Strait of Hormuz, sending oil prices higher.
- Trump repeatedly claimed Iran’s nuclear work was “obliterated,” then later admitted it was near a bomb as experts highlighted deeply buried sites like Pickaxe Mountain that bunker-buster bombs cannot reach.
- Senior U.S. officials had warned against rosy assumptions, with CIA director John Ratcliffe and Secretary Marco Rubio rejecting promises of a popular uprising and the Joint Chiefs chair cautioning that securing the strait would be extraordinarily hard.