Kyle Cave
Staff Writer
The U.S.-Israeli War on Iran has been going on since February 28, 2026. It’s unclear where the war will end up in the coming days or weeks. One thing is getting clearer by the day, no matter what happens from here on out, the Trump administration may have just strengthened the very regime they aimed to destroy.
In the beginning of 2026, the regime was on record for murdering protesters who were protesting the government. The Trump administration (specifically Trump) went on record saying “Help is on the way!” for the Iranian people. However, since then the Iranian people haven’t really seen much progress.
The former Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, was assassinated by Israel last month. Since then, the leadership has been passed on to Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei. Many leaders in the Trump administration say their goal in Iran is not regime change. This stance has been very inconsistent and ever-changing throughout the war.
Several reports by different news outlets, including CNN and BBC, report that while the regime has sustained significant damage from both U.S. and Israeli strikes, the regime is very much still intact and functioning.
The biggest leverage the Iranian regime has at this moment is the Strait of Hormuz. This channel is where most of the world’s oil and natural gas resources go through. At the start of this war, Iran took control of the strait and effectively closed it. This action drove gas prices through the roof internationally, and prices remain high as of the writing of this article.
The American people’s disapproval of this war could also strengthen the regime. Every poll done by major news outlets shows Americans having high disapproval of the war with Iran. The Iranian regime is known to do propaganda videos and pictures.
It’s possible the regime could use American polls and Americans speaking out against the war as propaganda to show how the U.S. is waging a war that American citizens do not approve of.
The regime could also use Trump himself and the administration as propaganda for themselves. In many ways, we have already seen it with LEGO AI videos of Trump that the regime has made.
It’s not just AI videos the regime could use, they could use Trump and the administration’s contradictory statements on the war. On Trump’s personal social media site, he threatened to “Wipe Iranian civilization off the map.” Hours later, he announced he was delaying the strikes against Iran to restart peace talks. Iranian state media responded to that action as Trump “backing down.”
Others in the administration and government have also been invoking religion in the Iran war. Specifically, Pete Hegseth and Lindsey Graham. Invoking religion in any type of war can be dangerous, because the other side can take that as a reason to prolong a conflict.
Religion is very personal, and if you make an enemy feel like their religion is attacked, the war has an entirely new meaning.
The war with Iran is not just about military capabilities and how much land you damage over a period. This war is mainly about leverage, and Iran has the biggest piece of leverage to keep fighting.
The world cannot handle a closed Strait of Hormuz for a long period of time without an energy crisis. Iran knows this, there are even reports of Iran charging tolls up to $2 million in crypto as a toll for getting through the Strait of Hormuz.
The U.S., as of the writing of this article, has started a naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Even with this act, the damage has already been done. Iran knows they have a significant piece of leverage over the entire world if they are threatened. Even if the Strait of Hormuz opens, gas prices will not go back to pre-war levels immediately. High gas prices could last for several months, possibly going into 2027.
The start of this entire conflict goes back to the Iranian regime killing protesters. America was trying to send a message to the world and the Iranians that they have their back. In the time since then, America has taken actions that have made it so that the regime is strengthened and could be much more willing to do worse to Iranian citizens overall.