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American and Israeli missiles continue to rain down on Iran after a massive opening salvo of attacks on Feb. 28, 2026. The destruction will undoubtedly continue for some time, as Secretary of State Marco Rubio yesterday told U.S. lawmakers, “The hardest hits are yet to come from the U.S. military.”
But destruction does not equal political success, writes international relations scholar Farah N. Jan. What destruction does do, she argues, is generate power vacuums, radicalization and cycles of retaliation. For proof, one need only look at the history of U.S. bombing campaigns in the Middle East. They include Libya, Afghanistan and Iraq, where the 2003 U.S. “shock and awe” campaign achieved its military objective in weeks but never fulfilled its political goal.
As in Iraq, there is no American theory of political endgame in Iran – only the theory of destruction, writes Jan. But Iran’s political system is deep-rooted, having survived for four decades, she adds. And it’s likely to survive American air power that can obliterate buildings but historically has been unable to build political order.
What began as U.S. and Israeli strikes on targets in Iran has quickly developed into a broader regional conflict. Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, an expert on Gulf dynamics, explains that Tehran wants to widen the conflict to exert more pressure on Washington. “Tehran’s hope is that the economic impact will encourage Gulf leaders to press Trump for an endgame,” Ulrichsen writes.
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A plume of smoke rises after a strike in Tehran on March 2, 2026.
AP Photo/Mohsen Ganji
Farah N. Jan, University of Pennsylvania
As US bombing operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya have shown, destruction is not the same as political success.
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Politics + Society
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Georges Naufal, Texas A&M University; Emily Naiser, Texas A&M University
There are never enough lawyers to provide indigent defense, but the situation has gotten worse since the pandemic.
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International
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Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, Rice University
Qatar, the UAE and other Gulf nations have spent years cultivating an image of being an oasis of stability in the Mideast. The current war risks undoing all that work.
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Andrew Latham, Macalester College
Nations are becoming adept at provocations that fall in the area between routine peacetime actions and open warfare.
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Arts + Culture
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Alessandro Meregaglia, Boise State University
Long before Joe Exotic became Tiger King, Mabel Stark reigned as Tiger Queen.
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Science + Technology
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Svetla Ben-Itzhak, Johns Hopkins University
What does it mean for national security if access to Earth’s orbit depends largely on one company?
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Catherine A. Sanderson, Amherst College
Heroes take a personal risk for the common good. Some people may just be born with the personality traits of a hero – but anyone can get ready to act heroically.
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Ivan Martinez, West Virginia University
The immortal cancer cells of Henrietta Lacks revolutionized the fields of science, medicine and bioethics. And they still survive today, more than 70 years after her death.
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Health + Medicine
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Helena Addison, Yale University
A nurse scientist interviewed 29 formerly incarcerated Black men in Philadelphia to understand how they address their mental health needs.
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Stephen Neely, University of South Florida
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Ethics + Religion
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Eric Lob, Florida International University
Khamenei was a deeply polarizing figure in Iran – perceived by some as a martyr and others as an oppressor.
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