The Iranian regime, which has devastated the lives of the Iranian people for nearly five decades with its destructive policies, is now steering the country toward a scorched-earth scenario. On the seventh day, as the bombardment of Tehran by the United States and Israel continued with intensity, there were still no signs of an end to the war on the horizon. It is reported that Israeli and American fighter jets struck underground tunnels in the Pastor District area with bunker-busting bombs. In response, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fired Khorramshahr‑4 missile and Fattah missile toward Israel, causing damage in several cities. Missiles and drones from the Iranian regime also targeted bases of Iranian Kurdish forces in the Kurdistan Region as well as several countries in the Persian Gulf.

In response, the United Arab Emirates announced that it is considering freezing the assets of the Iranian government, an action that could deal a significant financial blow to the Revolutionary Guard. Oil prices in global markets have risen to nearly $100 due to disruptions in the export flow of oil and gas from the Persian Gulf. Western financial analysts predict that if disruptions to shipping in the Gulf continue, oil prices could reach $150 in the coming weeks.

The strategy of the Iranian government, having long prepared itself for such a day, is to launch a war of attrition in order to pressure Donald Trump. One week after the war began, the U.S. president is under pressure both from his domestic rivals and from Arab countries that had tried to prevent the outbreak of war. Financial and commercial losses suffered by Arab states due to Iran’s missile attacks have caused considerable dissatisfaction among their leaders.

Meanwhile, the condition of what remains of the Tehran regime at the end of the first week appears worse than that of any of the other parties involved. While the regime’s missile-launching capability is diminishing each day, the Revolutionary Guard’s main reliance is now on drones, which—unlike missiles—do not require launch platforms. Domestically, the regime’s armed forces, amid relentless bombardment, are constantly relocating from one hiding place to another. To control the streets and public spaces, the security apparatus has organized gangs and thugs in city squares and has staged nightly “Heydar Heydar (calling Khamenei)” rallies both to boost morale among their ranks and to neutralize the possibility of emerging popular resistance. At the same time, the IRGC has deployed large numbers of its ground forces to Iranian Kurdistan to prevent what it sees as its worst nightmare: the entry of Iranian Kurdish Peshmerga from the Iraqi Kurdistan Region and the creation of a liberated zone under U.S. and Israeli no fly zone.

The rise in natural gas prices as a result of the current war has also begun to reshape the situation in European Union countries. Alongside the economic pressure caused by the Middle East war, attacks by the Iranian regime on European interests in Arab countries and Cyprus are pushing the European Union toward joining the U.S. and Israeli campaign.

At the same time, daily life for ordinary people continues to deteriorate amid bombs and fire. In some areas of Tehran, residents report that water supplies have been cut off. After seven days of a general shutdown following the death of Ali Khamenei, government employees and Bazar are now expected to return to work. Many residents of Tehran and other major cities have left for other areas, mostly the northern provinces of the country. The half-paralyzed government is now focused solely on its own survival. The Islamic Republic regime, like a plague, has sunk its claws into this land. Treating this disease and freeing Iran from this criminal government is possible – but, contrary to what pro-monarchist television channels had promised over the past several months, it will not be easy.