Trump’s bombs weakened Iran’s regime. Its own people can take it down

Published August 21, 2026 7:00am ET



As the war with Iran approaches its seventh month, the Trump administration should resist a dangerous conclusion: Because the Islamic Republic has survived, it must therefore be stronger than many believed.

Survival is not strength. The regime has been severely weakened militarily, but the deeper evidence of its vulnerability is inside Iran itself: an economy under extraordinary pressure, renewed social unrest, growing tensions within the ruling establishment, and an organized resistance that continues to challenge the regime despite intense repression.

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