On February 28, the US, in coordination with Israel, launched a genuine war against Iran—not just a series of small retaliatory strikes. The declared goal was to break the military power of the Tehran regime and end its nuclear ambitions.
After 100 days, the question is no longer whether this war was worth it, but whether Washington has the resolve to see it through to the end.
According to assessments, Iran's ballistic missile program—its most important deterrent—has been largely destroyed. The Iranian navy has been eliminated. The nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan, where Tehran invested tens of billions of dollars over decades, have been leveled.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has confirmed that the damage is immense. The nuclear weapons development project pursued by the Iranian regime for a generation is over. Restoring Iran's military power will take years.
Iran's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, who led the country for 37 years, was killed on the first day of the war. He built Hezbollah, sustained Hamas, directed Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) intervention in Syria, armed the Houthis, and established militias across Iraq.
Critics argue that regime change has not occurred, but that does not alter the reality. Totalitarian regimes do not collapse on a convenient schedule. The Soviet Union did not fall immediately after the US deployed Pershing II missiles in Europe.
Today, Iran is no longer what it was before February 27. Dozens of senior officials are dead, and the IRGC command structure is shattered. The Iranian economy, already fragile, has suffered $270 billion in damage, as acknowledged by the Tehran government. The national currency is in crisis.
Iranians celebrated in the streets of Tehran when Khamenei died. That is a sign that real change could come with time and determination.
The Islamabad ceasefire shows the real balance of power: Iran agreed to a pause out of desperation, not because it was winning. The naval blockade costs Tehran $500 million a day. Iran's demand for maximum compensation is merely a performance for domestic audiences.
One hundred days ago, Iran was the leading destabilizing force in the Middle East, with ballistic missiles, near-complete nuclear capabilities, and a network of proxy forces stretching from the Mediterranean to the Arabian Gulf. Today, the supreme leader is dead, the arsenal is shattered, the nuclear program is in ruins, and the treasury is being drained daily.
This is the power of the US when it is truly applied. It is uncomfortable, costly, but it is a historic achievement.
