AN agreement has finally been reached between Iran and the United States, bringing the war to an end. This is welcome news. Yet an even more important question remains: what lessons can be drawn from this conflict, the subsequent peace settlement and Pakistan’s diplomatic role in the developments surrounding it? The significance of this war lies primarily in Iran’s resilience. In many ways, the conflict was a consequence of the circumstances that emerged after the Islamic Revolution. The prevailing assumption was that Iran would be unable to withstand the combined military and political pressure of the United States and Israel. Many believed that its revolutionary system would collapse and that a new political order would be imposed upon it.

Reports suggest that Iran and the United States have agreed on a fourteen-point framework. Whether it concerns the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s nuclear program or other matters is secondary. What matters most is the outcome of the war itself. To understand that outcome, one must recall the declared objectives of the American and Israeli leadership. Both repeatedly stated that their goal was regime change in Iran.

History shows that when a nation’s supreme leadership is removed or incapacitated during war, defeat often follows. In the opening phase of this conflict, Iran’s military leadership came under severe attack and even Supreme Leader Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Khamenei has been martyred. Such circumstances could have shattered a nation’s morale. Yet Iran........

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