Even if leaders including Khamenei are killed, there will be no change in Iran - How will Trump's objective be achieved?

Although American Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, addressing senior officials last year, described the 1991 Gulf War as a limited operation with a clear end, The Economist magazine has published an article stating that the end of the current Iranian conflict is still unclear. Israeli and American forces have deployed overwhelming power against Iran, with Israeli fighter jets dropping more than 1,200 weapons on 500 targets across Iran in a single day.

Although President Donald Trump declared that Iran has been completely destroyed, a clear picture of the ultimate goal of this war has not yet emerged.

It took America nine months to find Saddam Hussein in 2003, and Russia's attempts to assassinate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also failed. However, it took Israel and America only one day, February 28, to locate and assassinate Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The next morning, state television officially confirmed his death with tearful announcers. Yet, even with this remarkable victory, the war is not expected to end quickly.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that thousands more targets will be struck in the coming days, and the Israeli Air Force announced that it launched extensive attacks on targets of the Iranian terrorist regime in Tehran on March 1. Both leaders, Trump and Netanyahu, have pledged to continue fighting as needed. The US Central Command (CENTCOM), which directs Pentagon operations in the Middle East, states that its goal is to dismantle the Iranian regime's security apparatus. Netanyahu has called on the people to take to the streets, and Trump urged Iranian security forces to join the protesters, aiming to create a suitable backdrop for a popular uprising.

In addition to the Supreme Leader, Israel has assassinated several senior officials, including Iran's Defense Minister, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and head of the Security Council. Nevertheless, despite this swift leadership destruction, there are no clear signs yet that the Iranian security forces have collapsed. Iran continues to launch drone and ballistic missile attacks against Israel and Arab countries.

On the night between February 28 and March 1, Iran launched a series of severe missile attacks not only against Israel but also against Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Oman, which had acted as a mediator between the two parties before the war. Meanwhile, Ali Larijani, head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, has issued a strong warning on social media that America and Israel will be struck by a massive force unlike anything they have ever experienced. (The Economist)