Retired General: US-Israel Strike on Iran a Military Win, But Regime Change Harder

He emphasised that regime change remains a far more complex objective, noting that Iran has already signalled its intent to push back and escalate the situation.

"But it does not lead to regime change. Regime change is something bigger... There is a tremendous amount of ideological support, sentimental and emotive support from the Shia communities around the world and therefore escalation is on, and today is the third day. People may have expected that this war would come to an end, perhaps in a day or two, after the Supreme Leader had been eliminated. But I think Iran has decided to push back and escalate..." said Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd.).

The retired Lieutenant General, on Monday further contended that the attack on Iran represented a tremendous military achievement for the United States-Israel partnership. He noted that both the USA and Iran executed a total suppression of air defences within Tehran and across the entirety of Iran.

However, the retired Lieutenant General characterised the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as a significant military achievement for the United States.

"... This war was impending for the last two months. We knew that a buildup was taking place, and anytime a trigger would have brought this war up. After Venezuela, especially, we knew that the Americans had the right technologies for penetration, for intelligence requirements. So a big deception plan was probably in place and they lulled Iran into complacency, and I think the attack was launched thereafter. It was a tremendous military achievement on the part of the United States-Israel Combined in achieving this penetration and carrying out a total suppression of all air defence inside Tehran, or rather all around Iran. So the killing of the Supreme Leader is a big military achievement for the United States," said Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd.).

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the site of an Iranian missile strike in Beit Shemesh, west of Jerusalem, marking the third day of a massive joint military offensive against the Iranian regime.

Standing amidst the wreckage of the targeted civilian area, the 76-year-old leader framed the ongoing conflict as a global mission alongside the United States to neutralise a nuclear-capable Tehran.

While speaking to reporters here, Netanyahu stated, "This is the third day of Operation Roaring Lion, the operation the Israeli army and the state of Israel set out to, with our great friends, the United States of America and President Trump, to thwart existential threats to Israel and great threats to America and the entire world."

The Prime Minister's visit to the bombarded site was intended to highlight the contrasting military strategies of the two warring sides. He accused the Iranian leadership of deliberately targeting non-combatants, while maintaining that the joint forces were focused on the regime's infrastructure.

"When I stand here in a place that was bombarded by the terrorists in Tehran against innocent civilians, you see the difference. The tyrants of Tehran target civilians. We target the tyrants of Tehran to protect civilians," he said.

Netanyahu further warned that the current "military offensive" was a necessary preventative measure to ensure that Iran's ballistic missile capabilities do not reach a point where they could threaten global humanity with nuclear payloads.

"And if this regime, this terrorist regime of the kind we've never seen in the world, if they get nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them, ballistic missiles, intercontinental ballistic missiles, they will threaten all of humanity," he cautioned.

The Prime Minister reiterated that the Israeli-American alliance is serving a broader humanitarian purpose through Operation Roaring Lion.

- ANI