After three months of war with two of the world’s most technologically and militarily advanced countries, Iran has proved far more resilient than anticipated. Indeed, strategically at least, Tehran appears to now have the upper hand in the conflict. How has this situation come about?

When the United States joined Israel to launch the latest war with Iran in late February 2026, the prognosis did not look good for the regime in Tehran.

In attacking Iran, the US and Israel set up a highly asymmetric conflict. It pitted the Islamic Republic up against two nuclear-armed adversaries who boast some of the most advanced military capabilities on the planet. And the scale of the US and Israeli intervention was far larger than anything Iran has experienced in decades.

Over the course of several weeks, Iran was pounded relentlessly with the full force of US and Israeli air and missile power. Precision strikes and targeted assassinations removed key members of Iran’s political and military leadership – including the supreme leader and commander-in-chief, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The country’s air and naval combat capabilities were decimated, hundreds of its missile launchers and air defence systems were destroyed and its internal security apparatus was severely degraded. The country’s nuclear facilities and missile and drone factories were bombed with thousands of pounds of munitions.

Iran moved quickly to replace its leadership and use its remaining military capabilities to strike back at its attackers and their allies. But by any measure, the Islamic Republic........

© The Conversation