Iran's Endurance Strategy Challenges US-Israel, Widens Conflict

Professor Mehran Kamrava of Georgetown University in Qatar states the war resulted from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ambition to dismantle the Iranian system and Iran's misreading of President Donald Trump's unpredictable decision-making. While the US and Israel measure success through visible military damage, Iran views success as endurance, intending to "grind down American and Israeli resolve" over time.

Kamrava emphasizes that Iran's leadership system, including the Revolutionary Guards, is designed to function autonomously and absorb shocks, making individual leadership changes, such as the reported death of Ali Larijani or uncertainty around Mojtaba Khamenei, setbacks rather than turning points. The conflict has already spilled over, with Iran attacking Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, placing them in a difficult position as they seek to avoid being drawn into a broader US-Israeli war and fear potential US withdrawal.

Kamrava concludes that the war has no clear end, with regional mediation efforts continuing quietly, but the conflict risks becoming a long, slow engagement, precisely what Iran appears to be preparing for.