The Islamic Republic’s War Strategy: Survival at Any Cost as Victory

UANI Senior Advisor Saeid Golkar for the Norwich University Blog: On the fifteenth day of the U.S.-Israeli conflict against Iran, which started on February 28, 2026, missiles and bombs are hitting critical infrastructure, senior commanders have been killed, and the country has entered one of the most dangerous moments in its recent history. Yet the Islamic Republic still stands, not because it has achieved a conventional military victory or gained superiority on the battlefield, but because it follows a much simpler, more ideological principle: survival at any cost is victory. This is the core political logic of the Islamic Republic in the current war, which cannot win in the traditional sense. Instead, it is trying to stay alive, preserve the regime’s coercive power, control the streets, and keep its flag flying. From the regime’s perspective, if it survives, it can claim victory, no matter how much destruction the country suffers.