9 h. ago Easy regime change in Tehran is a nice idea. But look to history: it’s a near

No one doubts the malignity of the Iranian government, but if we forget the tragedies of interventions past, we’ll make the same mistakesOn the eve of the 1991 Gulf war, a TV reporter asked the US commander Norman Schwarzkopf if he would topple Iraq’s Saddam Hussein. Stormin’ Norman replied with a memorable succinctness: “Easy say. Hard do.”Schwarzkopf knew what he was talking about. The general was a lifelong student of the Middle East region – he spent some of his childhood years in Tehran – and of military history. Indeed his successful ground-war strategy for Saddam’s defeat in Kuwait was consciously modelled on the flanking tactics used to such devastating effect by the Carthaginian commander Hannibal to defeat the Romans at Cannae in 216BC.Martin Kettle is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Politics

10 h. ago Iran’s exiled royal calls for regime change — but few are listening

For now, citizens’ disillusionment with the Islamic republic is superseded by anger towards Israel

Politics

11 h. ago An implosion, a collapse or a transition: what would regime change in Iran look like?

Some western leaders have welcomed the idea of the toppling of Iran’s supreme leader, but no planning has been made for the aftermath if it happensAt the G7 in Canada, differences within Europe about the wisdom of regime change in Iran could not have been more stark.The French president, Emmanuel Macron, warned against toppling a government “when you have no idea what comes next”. Insisting that he had no time for the Iranian government, Macron argued that it was for the people of Iran to choose their rulers. Continue reading...

Politics

19 h. ago Iranian opposition supporters grapple with US and Israeli regime change plans

‘We want freedom on our own terms,’ says one Tehran resident, while another writes, ‘Someone is helping us’Despite a substantial internet blackout, news spread quickly in Iran on Tuesday night: the US was considering joining Israel in its war on Iran. The US president, Donald Trump, wrote on Truth Social: “We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding. We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now Our patience is wearing thin.” Three minutes later, in a second post, he added: “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!”When Mehnaz*, a 24-year-old student activist in east Tehran, heard the news, she did not think of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei. Instead, she thought of her fellow students who were detained, shot and executed by Iranian security forces during the “woman, life, liberty” protests in 2022. Continue reading...

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25 h. ago Iran threatens US with ‘irreparable damage’ if Trump joins war

Ayatollah Khamenei says his country will not surrender, as reports say it is preparing missiles to strike US basesIran’s supreme leader rejected US calls for surrender and warned that joining the war would lead to “irreparable damage”, as Israel ramped up rhetoric about regime change and ordered civilians to evacuate a district in Tehran.Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also said Israel made a “huge mistake” by launching the war, in his first comments since Friday. Continue reading...

Events

47 h. ago Trump cannot avoid the question much longer – is he going to join Israel’s war or not? | Rajan Menon

If he does nothing, the US president may alienate Israel’s fervent American allies. If he intervenes, he’ll undermine his own foreign policyDuring his three presidential campaigns, Donald Trump ran as an opponent of serial military interventions and wars of “regime change” à la Iraq and Libya, which neoconservatives and liberal internationalists alike had embraced after the end of the cold war. He correctly sensed that many Americans had tired of “forever wars”.Benjamin Netanyahu’s attack on Iran is a watershed moment for Trump. It will force him to reveal whether he truly represents a clean break with the foreign policy establishment, often referred to as “the blob”, or is in fact a continuation of it. It all depends on whether he decides to join Israel’s attacks on Iran.Rajan Menon is a professor emeritus of international relations at the City College of New York and a senior research scholar at Columbia University’s Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies Continue reading...

Politics

47 h. ago Netanyahu speaks of regime change in Iran. But it’s not the same as regime destruction

Israeli president has no interest in Iran’s future beyond weakening and destabilising a regional rival Middle East crisis – live updatesOn Sunday, in an interview with Fox News, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, pontificated on a theme he has become increasingly attached to in recent years: that Israel under his leadership would not simply attempt to dismantle Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes through military attack, but in the process usher in regime change in Tehran.The government in Tehran, he said, was “very weak”, adding that given the opportunity, “80% of the people would throw these theological thugs out”. Continue reading...

Politics

47 h. ago Netanyahu speaks of regime change in Iran; what he means is regime destruction

Israeli prime minister has no interest in Iran’s future beyond weakening and destabilising a regional rivalMiddle East crisis – live updatesOn Sunday, in an interview with Fox News, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, pontificated on a theme he has become increasingly attached to in recent years: that Israel under his leadership would not simply attempt to dismantle Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes through military attack, but in the process usher in regime change in Tehran.The government in Tehran, he said, was “very weak”, adding that given the opportunity, “80% of the people would throw these theological thugs out”. Continue reading...

Politics

55 h. ago The Iranian people were starting to win their battle for liberty and prosperity. Then Israel attacked | Esfandyar Batmanghelidj

Something was shifting in Iran, but now missiles and the return of foreign interference may tear up the green shoots of progressMissiles follow trajectories. So do countries. And over the past few days, Israel’s attacks have dramatically changed Iran’s trajectory.Some believe that Iran was already on a downward spiral and that Israel’s actions will simply accelerate the descent. In an op-ed published on Monday, several of Iran’s most prominent civil society figures, including Nobel peace prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, declared that the “only credible path to safeguard [Iran] and its people is the resignation of the current leadership”. In this view, the war could be construed as a deliverance – Israeli officials are openly suggesting that their operations could lead to regime change in Iran. But if Iran’s decline was already precipitous, why are ordinary Iranians terrified by the outbreak of war? Why have they not welcomed Benjamin Netanyahu as the saviour he imagines himself to b...

Events

3 d. ago Iran blitzes Israel for fourth day and calls for Islamic Army to wage war on Tel Aviv as IDF destroys its nuclear HQ and warns of 'regime change' in Tehran

Iran is looking to form an 'Islamic Army' with several other countries in the Middle East as it continues to wage war with Israel.

Events

3 d. ago Netanyahu says ‘we’ll do what we need to do’ with Iran’s leader

Israeli premier said regime change in Tehran could “certainly be the result” of Israel’s attacks

Politics

3 d. ago Trump in Iran crisis: MAGA descends into mutiny as Israel threatens to take out Ayatollah in regime change plot

Donald Trump is teetering on the brink of an all-out Iran crisis amid MAGA fury over his 'complicity' in Israel's strikes. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Politics

4 d. ago Watch: Iran launches fresh missile barrage towards Jerusalem after vowing ‘destructive’ attacks

This is the moment projectiles from an Iranian missile attack flash in the night sky over Israel’s capital Jerusalem on Saturday (14 June).

Events

5 d. ago Israel warns ‘Tehran will burn’ as Netanyahu hints at regime change

Military and air force heads say they are ready to launch a wave of heavy strikes on Tehran

Events

5 d. ago Israel’s stated aim is the destruction of Iran’s nuclear weapons – but the real goal is regime change in Tehran

Israel’s real aim in Iran is regime change - and that suits the West just fine, writes World Affairs Editor Sam Kiley

Events

3 w. ago This is how Stanley Tucci got into the ‘best shape of his life’ at 64

The actor says this workout regime has been ‘life-changing’

Politics