Subject: Heck of a job, Brownie
Or maybe the thread title should be “Mission Accomplished”? One of those famously untrue things that defined a political era?

Iran’s Regime Has Changed—for the Worse

The U.S.-Israeli attack fast-tracked the ascent of hard-liners and apocalyptic religious followers, raising doubts about a lasting peace

On March 13, a massive billboard appeared in Tehran’s Enqelab Square. It showed Iran’s newly selected supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, standing in a trench and instructing commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to fire missiles at their enemies. The text suggested the mission is divinely inspired, comparing Khamenei to Imam Ali, a revered Muslim figure known for his legendary victory over Jewish tribes.

For opponents of Iran’s regime, the image is the visual representation of their worst nightmare: a militarized Iran ruled by a younger, hard-line leader where the Revolutionary Guard plays an even more dominant role.

The U.S. and Israel launched the war with the hope that killing top Iranian officials—starting with Mojtaba’s father, Ali Khamenei—would create the conditions for regime change or at least the emergence of leaders more willing to bend to America and Israel’s interests. In an address to the nation one month into the war, President Trump called the new leadership “more reasonable.”

Instead, the void is being filled by radical new leaders who have shown little interest in political compromise at home or abroad.

https://www.wsj.com/world/midd...

For the record, this is not an opinion piece, it’s “news analysis” by the newsroom reporters. I know that won’t matter to those who don’t like to hear what they don’t like to hear, but it is not just the ramblings of one op-ed writer, it comes from a joint analysis from several reporters and editors of Murdoch’s paper.