Trump said outright he opposes regime change, and Netanyahu has publicly stated that removing the regime in Tehran is not a goal of Israel’s war effort. So, has the West given up on removing the ayatollahs?

Not necessarily.

Beneath the surface, signs suggest something more calculated is taking shape. Reports indicate the U.S. has quietly communicated with Iranian military leaders—perhaps to feel out a post-ayatollah transition. While this may seem like swapping one dictatorship for another, a shift from a religious theocracy to a more secular military regime could be a first crack in the oppressive structure.

The Iran of mid-2025 is not the Iran of early 2024. The regime is now hemorrhaging economically, militarily, and diplomatically:

The latest war severely damaged Iran’s military infrastructure. Rebuilding would require funds it simply doesn’t have.

Iran’s proxies—Hezbollah, the Houthis, and militias in Iraq—offered little more than lip service in support. Their silence speaks volumes about the weakening influence of Tehran.

In Europe, where Iranian money has historically bought political silence, even that seems to be fading. Germany’s Chancellor Merz bluntly said, “Israel is doing the dirty work” on behalf of the West.

Inside Iran, public anger is sharper than ever. Citizens have seen how the regime’s years of bluster and chest-pounding amounted to little more than empty threats—and that the real cost has been paid by ordinary Iranians.

The regime’s myth of invincibility has been pierced. And once that illusion breaks, as with the USSR, cracks spread fast.

If military figures rise, it won't be ideal. But it could mark the beginning of the end for Iran’s theocracy—and possibly the start of a slow return to a government that listens to its people instead of using them as cannon fodder.