The American Attack on Iran

News:

On the evening of the 10th of Ramadan, February 28, 2026, Tehran local time, US President Donald Trump announced that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, had been killed in the opening strikes of the US-"Israeli" war on Iran earlier that day, placing Tehran and the entire region at a pivotal moment with enormous repercussions. (Al-Jazeera.net Arabic)

Comment:

Regarding the attack on Iran, some points for consideration,

1. The limited strikes by the US appear to be for a regime change within Iran, of a specific type. Iran has been a client state (dawlah taabah) of the US for decades, which means that it ties its foreign policy to that of the leading state. Thus, the followers of the US within the Iranian leadership, from the faction led by the Supreme Leader, have always sided with the US in major regional initiatives, whether it is the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, or the invasion of Iraq in 2003, or suppressing the revolution in Syria from 2011, or restraining the armed forces of Muslims from assisting Gaza from 2023.

2. However, for the making of the "New Middle East," the US made demands that even the followers of the US could not accept. Followers of US policy are not like outright agents, and have red lines that agents do not. Trump wants a humiliating deal for Iran in order to alter the regional balance in favor of the Jewish entity, under the policy to expand its role. Trump was facing resistance from the faction of the Supreme Leader, who stubbornly disagreed on measures that would significantly reduce the military and nuclear capabilities of Iran. The Soleimani faction has been a constant thorn in the side of Trump, for some time, and this faction has been enraged by the dismantling of the Axis of Resistance that includes the Hezb of Iran in Lebanon. Another consideration regarding regime change is the expansion of the Abraham Accords to include Iran. In this respect, Netanyahu resists any agreement with Iran, under the leadership of the Supreme Leader, and is holding out for a regime that will make greater concessions.

3. In this situation, the US prefers that another faction, that is more concessionary and realist, arises from within the Revolutionary Guard to steer the affairs of Iran. An option is the team around Javad Zarif and Abbas Araqchi, the current foreign minister, for these are the individuals capable of charting a new course for the new Iranian state. The US must continue to deploy pressure, including military options, until it has less stubborn men to deal with. This is whilst knowing that Trump has limitations in terms of affording a prolonged war, strategically, financially, politically and military. Yet, as of now, the ball is in the court of the Revolutionary Guard. America hopes that the Revolutionary Guard will embark on a new path to build a new political order that aligns with the America and its previous humiliating demands and conditions because Iran is essential to the America, being one of the strongest Muslim states. As for America replacing the Revolutionary Guard completely, it seems unlikely as the options available to it are limited. As for moving Iran from being a client state to a subordinate state, led by outright agents rather than followers, as America has in Egypt and Pakistan, it is also less likely.

4. It must be said that the attack on Iran by the United States, with the Jewish entity at its side, is a humiliating reminder of the absence of the shield of the Ummah.  The Islamic ruling governance is able to unify the resources of Pakistan, Turkey, Iran and Egypt, amongst the stronger states, as well as others, to dismantle the regional US military footprint effectively and permanently. So, it can be said that the attack is due to the weakness in leadership of the Ummah, not the strength of America. As a matter of fact, the US military has a long and fragile Line of Communication to Iran in the first place. A unified Ummah can effectively close all sea access to the US navy carriers, moving from the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean, preventing the US military buildup for an attack in the first place, freezing the movement to a striking force, which takes days and weeks, and not hours in any case.

5. The absence of an Islamic leadership is the reason why the US administration achieved a significant milestone in its objectives, within less than 24 hours of launching the operation against Iran. The Ummah must not wait for the next attack on any other Muslim country, but it must work diligently for the establishment of a state ruling by Islam, as it deserves, a vital issue, a matter of life and death. Indeed, the events from the beginning of Operation Aqsa Flood have confirmed in blood and fire, that nationalistic leaderships, as well as sectarian leaderships, are no substitute for a truly Islamic leadership, the Khilafah Rashidah (rightly guided Caliphate) upon the method of the Prophethood.

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Musab Umair – Wilayah Pakistan