Still in the game
America and Israel Lost the War: Iran’s Nuclear Ambitions Have Only Intensified
Despite a successful military operation and diplomatic wins, Iran's leadership may now be more determined than ever to acquire a nuclear weapon. Only regime change—or overwhelming force—can stop it.
Iran may have suffered global humiliation in its recent conflict, but that embarrassment is likely to deepen, not diminish, its resolve to pursue a nuclear bomb.
The Trump administration’s military achievements, while tactically brilliant, may not be enough to prevent Iran’s nuclear rearmament, especially after the world watched Tehran’s vulnerabilities laid bare.
Historical precedent offers a warning. The Bush administration once used Iraq’s suspected weapons of mass destruction as justification for war - but it lied to the world. And while Saddam Hussein was not actively pursuing nuclear arms at the time, the public propoganda made sense: the United States could not allow a regime that supports international terror to possess weapons of mass destruction. That logic still stands, even though in the past it has been abused.
The fact that timelines predicting Iran's bomb development have proven inaccurate does not negate the strategic reality: unlike Iraq, whose nuclear ambitions were halted by an Israeli strike, Iran remains committed to the pursuit. and any sane human should try to prevent Iran from getting a nuke.
Critics often point to past intelligence failures to argue against action today. But the lesson of Iraq should not be that intervention is always wrong; it’s that real threats must be dealt with truthfully, decisively, and before they mature, and that it's hard to believe the Pentagon. Though the facr that the Pentagon lied, does not mean it is lying about Iran.
The Iranian regime's survival now depends on reasserting control and restoring deterrence.
The humiliation it suffered makes it more likely to intensify its efforts, seeing the bomb as a shield against future strikes and a symbol of restored power. Trump's error wasn’t military, it was allowing Iran space to recover. The regime will recalculate, regroup, and likely return to the nuclear path under tighter secrecy. Surveillance will increase, but so will Iran’s determination.
The only way to ensure Iran never acquires nuclear weapons is either to replace the regime entirely or to strike it so decisively that the cost of nuclear ambition becomes unbearable. So far, neither has happened.
Thus, despite undeniable operational victories, the war’s strategic outcome remains incomplete. Without addressing the root, Tehran’s ideological and military drive for nuclear capability, the Middle East will remain on edge, and the threat will remain alive.