๐จ๐บ๐ธ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ท SIX MONTHS OF WAR CHANGED EVERYTHING...
Six months after the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran, the Middle East has been dramatically transformed, but not in the way they intended.
The U.S. and Israel reportedly hoped the February 28 attack would topple Iranโs clerical leadership and ultimately replace it with a pro-Western government.
Instead, the Islamic Republic survived the assassination of its top leaders and weeks of devastating bombardment.
And Tehran discovered an extraordinarily powerful weapon of leverage.
The Strait of Hormuz.
Iranโs ability to disrupt one of the worldโs most important shipping routes has given Tehran leverage over global energy markets and forced Gulf states to confront uncomfortable questions about their own security.
Those Gulf countries have also witnessed serious gaps in the American security umbrella they have depended on for decades, with some reportedly beginning to look at alternatives.
Israel, meanwhile, has inflicted enormous damage on its enemies without completely defeating them.
After nearly three years of war in Gaza, further territorial seizures and now the Iran conflict, the country also risks what the article describes as a generational rupture with the United States.
And another major U.S.-Israeli ambition has moved even further away.
Saudi-Israeli normalization.
Former senior U.S. diplomat Barbara Leaf says the campaign has produced something very different from the government Washington hoped would emerge.
A โhardened and very radical regime.โ
She says Iranโs confidence has grown that it can not only survive the war, but ultimately prevail and reshape the regional order itself.
Six months ago, the goal was to transform the Middle East.
The question now is who actually transformed it?
Six months after the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran, the Middle East has been dramatically transformed, but not in the way they intended.
The U.S. and Israel reportedly hoped the February 28 attack would topple Iranโs clerical leadership and ultimately replace it with a pro-Western government.
Instead, the Islamic Republic survived the assassination of its top leaders and weeks of devastating bombardment.
And Tehran discovered an extraordinarily powerful weapon of leverage.
The Strait of Hormuz.
Iranโs ability to disrupt one of the worldโs most important shipping routes has given Tehran leverage over global energy markets and forced Gulf states to confront uncomfortable questions about their own security.
Those Gulf countries have also witnessed serious gaps in the American security umbrella they have depended on for decades, with some reportedly beginning to look at alternatives.
Israel, meanwhile, has inflicted enormous damage on its enemies without completely defeating them.
After nearly three years of war in Gaza, further territorial seizures and now the Iran conflict, the country also risks what the article describes as a generational rupture with the United States.
And another major U.S.-Israeli ambition has moved even further away.
Saudi-Israeli normalization.
Former senior U.S. diplomat Barbara Leaf says the campaign has produced something very different from the government Washington hoped would emerge.
A โhardened and very radical regime.โ
She says Iranโs confidence has grown that it can not only survive the war, but ultimately prevail and reshape the regional order itself.
Six months ago, the goal was to transform the Middle East.
The question now is who actually transformed it?
