Despite more than two weeks of relentless airstrikes, U.S. intelligence assessments say, Iran’s regime likely will remain in place for now, weakened but more hard-line, with the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps security forces exerting greater control. The United States and Israel have significantly degraded Iran’s missile capability and navy, removed the supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and wiped out scores of top military and intelligence leaders. Iran’s viselike grip on the Strait of Hormuz has slowed shipping traffic to a trickle, creating a historic oil disruption. Nonetheless, officials and analysts say, there are no overt signs of cracks or defections within Iran’s power structure. Inside Iran, regime supporters have grown more hard-line in two weeks of war, according to Aliasghar Shafieian, an adviser to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Source: Washington Post March 17, 2026 00:40 UTC