Iranian officials believe the confrontation with the United States and Israel did not weaken the Islamic Republic, but instead left it more secure and confident about its survival than it was before February, the Financial Times reported from Tehran. One senior official told the paper, “The Americans made a grave mistake, they woke the dragon,” adding, “We paid an enormous price, but we activated capabilities we had previously hesitated to use.”
The report said many observers had expected Iran to be weakened, especially after the blows to its allies in Lebanon and Yemen and after last year’s war in Iran. Instead, Tehran’s effective control over the Strait of Hormuz gave the regime what the paper described as a form of insurance and a stronger standing at home. A Western diplomat said, “The war strengthened the Iranian regime.”
The article said the regime’s new confidence also makes it unlikely that Tehran will agree to remove enriched uranium from its territory, as it has done in the past. Analysts cited the survival of state institutions, an orderly transfer of the supreme leader’s role, and the absence of internal challenges or public defections as signs of resilience.
The piece also said recent executions and the visible presence of regime-loyal militia members in the streets helped spread fear and suppress any signs of public revolt. The report was written by Najma Bozorgmehr and published in the Financial Times.
