Welcome to The Times of Israel’s Lazar Focus. Each Friday, join host diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman for a deep dive into what’s behind the news that spins the globe.

We are one week into a stunning US-Israel bombing campaign against the Islamic Republic. Senior Iranian leaders, including supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, have been eliminated, and Iran’s ability to attack its neighbors and to defend itself has been severely damaged.

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But it is still fighting and launching attacks on countries across the region.

What are US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu trying to achieve in this war?

And if it is regime change, is that even possible without sending in ground troops?

A possible way to thread that needle — to avoid committing US or Israeli forces but to still take ground from the Islamic Republic — is to use local opposition forces. The Kurds are being talked about as a possible vanguard of ethnic uprisings against the regime.

That is probably overambitious. There are only a few thousand Iranian Kurds under arms, and they have ample reasons to be wary of American promises.

Still, every day that goes by sees the US and Israel degrade Iranian forces, while they gain more freedom of action over the country. But there is still a long way to go before Trump and Netanyahu can consider ending the campaign while still achieving their goals.

Lazar Focus can be found on all podcast platforms. This episode was produced by Gabriella Jacobs and video edited by Ari Schlacht.

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