Today, Saturday, 28 February 2026, 8 months after the operation of Midnight Hammer (June 2025), again, Israel and the US are targeting the Iranian regime’s military and missile sites and nuclear facilities; launching strikes across Iran; and targeting the terrorist leadership of the “mullahs’ Shi’ite Caliphate" in Iran.
Israelis awoke Saturday to the news that Operation “Roaring Lion" had begun, with joint American-Israeli strikes targeting military sites inside Iran. The U.S. and Israel launched a joint attack in what the Pentagon has named “Operation Epic Fury."
After a half century, two leaders of the modern world - President Trump and PM Netanyahu - are trying to defeat the Islamic terrorist regime in the Middle East. It is a “pre-emptive attack" against the number one state sponsor of terrorism and a noble effort for liberating the world from this serious threat: it is a war between humanity and the devil of the 21st century. It is not a forever war.
Albeit, “Tehran’s Dictator" who doesn’t want to “lay down weapons," may be underground, his destiny is not clear, but his defeated regime retaliates across the Middle East and has targeted Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Bahrain, US bases and more.
Iran’s “Islamic Shi’ite Caliphate" launched the retaliatory operation “Truthful Promise 4," targeting US assets in the region and aimlessly and indiscriminately shooting at Israel. The essence and nature of this regime are against peace, prosperity, and humanity, so they are targeting the men and women of the US and Israel who are in battle and fighting against Tehran’s Dictator.
Trump said: “Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime, and ensure that Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon."
Then he told the Iranian people to remain in shelters and not leave their homes: “When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will probably be your only chance for generations. The hour of your freedom is at hand. Take over your government."
Now, the Iranian people and young generation are listening to the media to get the news of Khamenei’s death and a new message from the legitimate alternative, HRH the Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu similarly called on all Iranian people “to throw off the yoke of tyranny and bring about a free and peaceful Iran."
Thanking Trump, he reiterated his message that Iran “must not be armed with nuclear weapons that would allow it to threaten all of humanity."
“Our joint action will create the conditions for the courageous Iranian people to take their destiny into their own hands."
Training and helping Crown Prince Pahlavi and his circle is essential to reshape SAVAK, the intelligence service, for protection of the transitional period after the downfall of the regime. The CIA and Mossad know quite well that the young university students and, in general, the public of Iran are chanting, “We will fight, we will die, we will reclaim Iran."
Now this society has a great plausible alternative for post-regime change. The Iranians never call for the terrorist cults of Rajavi (MEK), or the pro-regime religious terrorist groups, the Khomeinist pro-Mossadeq cult, or the pro-Saddam ethnic terrorist groups (Komala or KDPI). All of these notorious groups are under the control of IRGC and MOIS. These want chaos and civil war. They mustt not be allowed to preval.
Helping the front-runner will be in favor of peace and prosperity of the region and increase stability and democracy in Iran.
The regime change in Iran is not a quick process. Please “don’t let the blade lose its edge." If CIA and Mossad “jump off a moving train," there will be serious consequences.
The CIA and Mossad had numerous significant effective stations in Iran before the 1979 coup, and they were main allies of SAVAK.
Some points are worth repeating: when the chance of the “Pahlavi Brand" in the political theatre of Iran is high - an unchallengeable alternative - and the downfall of the regime currently is more reachable, CIA and Mossad can be of immense help in multiple ways.
Predictably, it is only the beginning of a new era. There is no need for an installed elite or puppet regime. In this particular period of time, the main goal should be the successful transitional period until the election, without fear of becoming entangled in an internal prolonged multi-sided civil war, chaos, proxies, and other malign actors (such as the underground Islamic terrorist network inside Iran, with the same ethos as the mullahs’ regime). Soon after, the outlaw local actors will begin to clash.
With the collapse of the mullahs’ regime, a new well-trained SAVAK, helped by the CIA and Mossad, can knock down the remaining pro-regime actors, going against the world’s most ruthless Islamic terrorists. Quoting Langley, “you have more runway ahead of you." This new alliance will have the tremendous honor to protect Iran.
The regime change in Iran and the peaceful transitional period have short- and long-term effectiveness goals such as democratization. Reestablishing the “Iranian Kingdom" system, with more than 2800 years of history, will be aligned with the policy preferences of the US and Israel. The cooperative Iran after regime change will be a friendly ally in the region. The risks and potential costs will be low, and the regional conflict after half a century will be resolved. It is an effective hegemonic regime change against the malign Third World regime.
For strengthening the free world coalition, regime change in Iran will support US and Israeli national security interests.
Because of this geostrategic benefit, after this preventive intervention and covert and overt hegemonic regime change, evaluation of pre-war and post-war status in Iran is essential.
My fierce loyalty to these two agencies is crystal clear, but the mission of the US and Israel will be complete after the CIA and Mossad support the reshaping of an effective intelligence organization for the identified plausible alternative, HRH the Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi.
To improve relations with the new liberated Iran, the embassies of the US and Israel should be opened after half a century. Unquestionably, the path to international peace and security, and protection of civilians and international humanitarian law, is in deescalating combat groups which are in favor of the Iran regime and other feckless movements protecting the life of a vulnerable terrorist regime worldwide.
This opportunity for “throwing off the yoke of tyranny" shouldn’t be squandered.
Erfan Fard is an expatriate Iranian and a Middle East political analyst. His latest book, Tehran’s Dictator, examines the theocratic era of Ali Khamenei (1989-2026). Twitter/X: @EQFard.