Trump tried to cut the head off the Iran snake but it keeps biting him

April 6, 2026 — 3:10am

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A little over a month ago, US President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had been killed. He also added that many of the Iranian military and security forces did not want to fight and were looking for immunity. He also said that “Hopefully, the [Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps] and Police will peacefully merge with the Iranian Patriots, and work together as a unit to bring back the Country to the Greatness it deserves.”

A little over a month later, there is no evidence that the Iranian military or security forces lack the will to fight, as evidenced by the weekend downing of two US aircraft and the wounding of members of the team initially sent in to rescue the downed aircrew. If any merging between patriotic Iranians and the Iranian military has occurred, it has happened to oppose the American and Israeli military campaign launched against Iran, not to support it.

Therein lies the problem with conducting “leadership decapitation” operations, or as politicians and commentators are wont to say “cutting the head off the snake”. Such terms are great for a soundbite and, when successfully conducted, they can provide an immediate and easily publicised outcome for those who launched them. But the idea that killing a nation’s, or even an organisation’s leadership leads to immediate defeat is simplistic at best, and dangerous at worst.

In........

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