The theocratic regime of the mullahs in Iran is a dark and repressive system, driven by religious fanaticism. It suppresses, imprisons and kills its own people, fuels and supports terrorism, and constitutes a standing threat to its neighbours. It is not a regime that deserves the sympathy or solidarity of any rational observer.
In that sense, a full and meaningful overthrow of the regime would be a positive development, above all for the Iranian people themselves, who remain the principal victims of decades of tyranny.
That, however, does not grant either Donald Trump or Benjamin Netanyahu the right to attack whichever country they choose to target or deem an obstacle to their own strategic aims.
Once again, the United States under Trump, this time acting in coordination with Israel, has assumed the role of global sheriff, seeking to impose its own order on a distant country of immense geopolitical significance and vast oil reserves.
It is naïve to believe that the coordinated attack is being carried out to liberate the Iranian people from clerical rule or because the threat of Iran developing nuclear weapons is as imminent and clear-cut as Washington presents it.
The real objective of the strike appears to be the neutralisation of a longstanding adversary in order to further consolidate American and Israeli dominance and their hegemonic role in the region.
Even if one were to accept that regime change is the goal, no one can predict what the day after would look like.
Iran is not a conventional state with functioning democratic institutions, free political parties and a genuine opposition. Despite the death of Ali Khamenei, the clerical establishment has deep roots and millions of committed supporters who are prepared to defend it.
There is no guarantee that the current developments will not produce a new and even more radical leadership, or that the country will not descend into civil conflict. Given Iran’s internal dynamics and regional entanglements, such a conflict would likely take the form of multiple overlapping internal struggles, with far-reaching consequences.
What is certain is that the attack by the United States and Israel will not normalise the situation, at least not in the short term. Instead, it has opened the gates of hell for Iran and for the wider region, with unpredictable repercussions.
This stands as yet another “success” for the self-styled peacemaker, Donald Trump.