BERLIN — A senior US State Department official recently summarized the Trump administration’s approach to regime change in three words: “decapitate and delegate.” Remove an intransigent leader, weaken the regime through airstrikes, sanctions, and proxies, then compel a successor to strike a transactional bargain – eliminating a geopolitical irritant while opening the door to diplomatic normalization, oil access, and, in the case of Iran, nuclear concessions.

© Project Syndicate