What does regime change in Iran look like?

It is no secret that the success of Israel’s military operation in Iran, coupled with the Islamic Republic’s own reckless actions, has reignited the issue of regime change in Iran. In fact, only one day before the ceasefire, President Trump himself, for the first time, raised the possibility of regime change in Tehran. Throughout the 12-Day War, although the Israeli government stated that toppling the Islamic Republic was not its official objective, it did simultaneously acknowledge that its actions could create the conditions for regime change. Now, as the dust settles from the conflict, the key long-term objective for Israel, the US and Arab states in the Persian Gulf is to ensure that the three pillars of the Iranian regime’s military doctrine, which have been the root-cause for destabilisation in the Middle East—nuclear weapons, ballistic missiles, and Islamist proxies—are fully and permanently dismantled.