Airstrikes, no matter how precise or devastating, rarely topple regimes on their own. They can shatter command-and-control centers, destroy air defense batteries, and turn missile silos into craters.
But the final blow – the one that will end a 47-year reign of regional terror in Iran – will need to come from within.
That was the underlying message delivered by President Donald Trump on Saturday morning, a day that will be remembered as a tectonic shift in the history of the Middle East.
It was a message that echoed throughout the day that was marked by the targeted assassinations of senior Iranian officials, the bombing of regime headquarters, missile bases, and key command centers.
What we witnessed this weekend was a sophisticated reversal of military priorities. While the nuclear sites – long the “holy grail” of Israeli and American intelligence – were hit, they were effectively the secondary objective.
This time, the focus was on the country’s civil and military leadership, Iran’s air-defense systems, and the degradation of the regime’s ballistic missile arsenal. Nuclear sites were not the focus since the objective this time is different – it is to weaken the regime and strip it of its protective shield and offensive reach.
The contrast between this operation and the 12 Day War last June is stark. In that previous conflict, the objective – shared by Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – was surgical: set back the nuclear program and remove a potential existential threat. This time, the goal is far more ambitious.
Will this be enough to dismantle the regime that has sown more instability than any other since the 1979 revolution? History suggests caution. Kinetic force creates the vacuum, but it does not fill it.
Middle East does not rest
For the Islamic Republic to be brought down, the Iranian people must now do what the Tomahawk missiles cannot: seize the reins of power.
This represents a new level of American intervention under Trump. It is not yet the Iraq War of 2003, and there will not be boots on the ground. But it is far removed from what many expected of this president.
For the Left, the surprise lies in the president’s departure from perceived isolationism and personal transactionalism. For the “America First” Right, the shock is even deeper: the realization that staying away from military adventures is not exactly a reality with enemies like Iran.
But here are some of the difficult questions: Is there a covert infrastructure in place to support a popular uprising? Will the brave protesters who were gunned down just last month find the strength to return to the streets, knowing the regime’s security apparatus is wounded but still lethal? Will they receive the military supplies and communication tools necessary to sustain a revolution?
We do not yet know. What is clear is that airpower can create a moment, but it cannot guarantee an outcome. It can weaken the regime, fracture its leadership, and erode its sense of invincibility.
But the fate of the Middle East does not rest in the cockpits of the F-35s that flew over Tehran this weekend. It rests in the hands of the Iranian people.
They have been handed a generational opportunity, and whether they transform it into a movement will determine whether this war becomes a historic turning point or just another chapter in the long survival of a regime that has defied its critics for nearly half a century.
This is Trump at his most genuine. His Make America Great Again movement is tapping into this America of decades ago. To tap into this former greatness also means righting the wrongs of the past.
Iran has been attacking America for more than 40 years. It has killed large numbers of Americans. Now, America is responding.