As the Israeli Air Force and the United States Armed Forces continue to strike strategic targets in Iran as part of Operation Roaring Lion and Operation Epic Fury, ministers in Israel's government estimate that while the air campaign may end soon, the regime change process will be prolonged and will require internal civilian involvement.
"It may take about a year for the Iranian regime to fall," ministers told Kan News. According to the officials, the joint Israeli-US strikes are expected to conclude soon, and then the center of gravity will move to the civilian sphere. "The work afterwards will be that of the Iranian people. Iran is a big country, and changing a regime that murders its protesters is a very complex task."
One of the main challenges mentioned is the near-total internet blackout forced by the regime on the country since the war began.
The shutdown of the web makes it harder to gather intelligence about what is happening inside the cities and complicates protesters’ ability to coordinate their actions. Security officials assessed that, at this stage, the conditions for a mass uprising in the streets have not yet matured, and therefore, the military strikes will continue over the coming week in order to further undermine the regime’s centers of power.