In intelligence analysis and strategic forecasting, we’re taught to think about the next war(s) even while the current one is still underway.
The Iran war may be creating a couple of new strategic normals/baselines:
1️⃣ Intermittent strikes become routine.
Even after the current war ends, the U.S. and/or Israel may periodically strike Iranian targets whenever Tehran is seen rebuilding capabilities or engaging in hostile moves.
In other words: the threshold for kinetic action against Iran may now be permanently lower. Iran could become a theater where episodic strikes are treated as an extension of deterrence, rather than an escalation to full-scale war.
This trajectory would unfold unless:
• Tehran cuts a deal with Washington & the U.S. doesn't need to end the war unilaterally
• Or the regime becomes consumed by post-war internal instability.
2️⃣ War itself becomes normalized in Tehran.
Iran has now directly experienced war with the U.S. and Israel. Should the regime survive, hardliners - and even some of their middle of the road allies - may internalize a dangerous lesson: Yes, the war was devastating. But the regime endured.
That conclusion/perception could produce greater strategic risk tolerance in Tehran, rather than lower it.
But survival in the immediate aftermath doesn’t guarantee long-term stability.
Recent history is instructive: The Saddam regime in Iraq survived the shock of the 1991 Gulf War, yet the system ultimately collapsed in 2003. The point is not the analogy itself, but the broader pattern: wars frequently weaken regimes in ways that unfold over time. The immediate survival of regimes after major wars often masks longer-term systemic erosion - setting in motion slow-burn internal stresses that play out years later.
Still early days. But the outlines of the post-war strategic environment are already taking shape.
BREAKING: Araghchi: Trump 'killed' Iran's promise to not attack neighbhours by using regional bases to launch attacks against it
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Heartbroken! What did this poor soul did to Iran? Indiscriminate bombing results in loss of innocent lives. How are they different from US/ Israel targeting civilians?
Let me make clear to people here & abroad: Our govt only took action against TLP under our anti-terrorist law when they challenged the writ of the state and used street violence & attacking the public & law enforcers. No one can be above the law and the Constitution.
Breaking
Pakistan Army just confirmed that 23 soldiers were martyred last night during clashes with Afghan forces. The statement also says based on intelligence reports more than 200 Afghan troops were killed in response to Pakistan's retaliation.