Bombing Iran can destroy targets, not political memory

Military damage can be measured quickly. Strategic success depends on whether force changes Tehran’s political calculations rather than reinforcing the meaning of resistance. New U.S. strikes on Iran in early September, among the most substantial exchanges since July, again put a familiar measure of wartime success at center stage: what was hit, destroyed, or disabled. But the harder question begins after the damage is counted. If the purpose of force is not merely to remove a target but to change Tehran’s behavior, then the real test is not “What was destroyed?” but “What changed?” That distinction matters especially in Iran. The country is not simply a collection of facilities, missiles, and command centers whose future can be judged by a […]