What Have the Americans Accomplished With Their Nighttime Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites? An Illusion of Power, a Reality of Strategic Failure

In the dead of night, American warplanes streaked across the sky, striking three nuclear-related sites deep inside Iranian territory. The operation, hailed in Washington as a “decisive message” to Tehran, was presented as a show of strength — a warning against further escalation. But beyond the optics of shock and awe, a simple question lingers: what have the Americans actually achieved?

1. The Infrastructure Still Stands

Despite the precision-guided munitions and real-time satellite targeting, Iran’s critical nuclear infrastructure appears largely untouched. Reports from the ground and international monitoring suggest only minor damage was inflicted on peripheral facilities. The core of Iran’s nuclear fuel cycle — centrifuge arrays, enrichment labs, and engineering hubs — remains operational. Tehran’s nuclear ambitions, far from being derailed, are now more justified than ever in the eyes of its leadership and public.

2. Enrichment Will Continue — And Accelerate

The fog of diplomacy has lifted: Iran is no longer hiding its strategic direction. The days of nuanced “civilian nuclear energy” rhetoric are gone. With the illusion of safety shattered, Tehran is now more determined than ever to develop nuclear weapons — not as a threat, but as a shield. The strikes have not curbed enrichment; they’ve turbocharged its political legitimacy.

3. Nuclear Warheads May Now Be Just a Plane Ride Away

Quiet signals from Tehran’s partners — Russia, North Korea, even whispers from Pakistan — suggest that Iran may not have to build its deterrent alone. With open hostility from the West and no guarantee of security, some nations may be willing to supply nuclear warheads or technological know-how directly, tipping the balance of power in the region permanently.

4. Israel Is Burning

Meanwhile, Israel is under siege. Explosions rock Tel Aviv and Haifa, Iron Dome batteries are overwhelmed, and for the first time in decades, Israeli civilians are gripped by fear. Hezbollah and other Iranian-aligned militias have expanded the battlefield across multiple fronts. The much-vaunted American deterrence failed to protect its closest ally — and has arguably made things worse.

5. America’s New War — Unwanted but Inevitable

Washington is now entangled in yet another Middle Eastern war, one it cannot easily exit. A ground operation, once unthinkable, is now openly discussed in Pentagon briefings. The US has committed itself to a path that risks spiraling into a full-scale regional war, with consequences far beyond the Iranian plateau.

6. The Iranian Regime Grows Stronger

Paradoxically, the Islamic Republic has emerged politically stronger. Far from collapsing under pressure, the Iranian regime has consolidated power. The strikes offered it the perfect pretext to rally support, portray itself as a victim of foreign aggression, and suppress internal dissent under the banner of national defense.

7. National Unity Through Resistance

Iranians who were once disillusioned or politically apathetic are now rallying around the Supreme Leader and the Revolutionary Guard. The strikes have rekindled nationalist fervor and spiritual solidarity. Instead of weakening the regime, America has helped re-legitimize it in the eyes of millions.

8. Trump, the ‘President of Peace,’ Has Opened the Gates of War

Donald Trump, who once prided himself on avoiding “endless wars,” has now catapulted the United States into a new and unpredictable conflict. What was meant to be a quick message has become an entanglement. His image as a strategic realist is now replaced by that of a war-time gambler.

9. The World Is Not With You

Globally, the vast majority of nations oppose the strikes. Public opinion in the Global South is overwhelmingly critical. Key allies in Europe are uneasy. In the UN, condemnation is growing. Far from isolating Iran, Washington and Tel Aviv are the ones increasingly seen as global outlaws.

10. No Peace Prize This Time

So much for the Nobel Peace Prize. Trump, once cynically floated as a candidate, can now forget any accolades for diplomacy — not even from a compromised and politicized awards committee. The era of peace-through-strength has given way to instability through arrogance.

Conclusion: A Pyrrhic Gesture

In strategic terms, the American airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear sites accomplished little and backfired massively. They failed to destroy the nuclear program, escalated regional conflict, strengthened Iran’s political regime, and isolated the US diplomatically. What was meant to be a demonstration of dominance has instead revealed the limits of American power and the futility of coercive diplomacy in a multipolar world.

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By Belgacem Merbah

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