Victory or Defeat, Iranian Old Regime's Fate is Sealed

Time is working against Iran, whether it wins or loses the current war. Time is working for the U.S, even if it loses this particular war.

Machiavelli said, it's possible to lose a war well or badly, just as it's possible to win well or badly. Sometimes a healthy defeat is superior to a mediocre victory.

Whether Iran's presently confused and unstable government wins or loses this particular war, its own future is compromised. The Old Regime's fate is sealed. It could win this war, but the issue is really whether it loses well or badly.

To lose well is to be replaced in the country by a better government, a "regime change" that is good for the mass of the Iranian people, a huge majority which has hated the theocratic-military dictatorship for decades. To lose badly is to be ousted from power leaving behind one or another kind of civil war, plus a devastated economy.  To lose badly also means to become an international pariah for many years.  Iran will never again be allowed to control the Straits of Hormuz, never able to attempt, let alone actually take global trade hostage. More importantly still, it will never again try to build a nuclear deterrent, whether secretly or openly.