Iran’s regime shows it can still rattle the global economy amid U.S. bombardment

Iran's regime shows it can still rattle the global economy amid U.S. war

WASHINGTON – U.S. officials say relentless American and Israeli aerial attacks have crippled Iran’s air defenses, navy and missile arsenal. But the regime in Tehran has so far held on to power, and it effectively shut down a crucial choke point for the world’s oil supplies.

As the war President Donald Trump described as a “little excursion” stretched into a 12th day, Iran has shown it can trigger a global economic crisis. The U.S. and Israel have not managed to secure the vital Strait of Hormuz waterway, with commercial ships coming under fire from drones.

The White House anticipated that waves of U.S. and Israeli airstrikes that killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other top leadership would swiftly upend Tehran’s ruling apparatus.

But Khamenei, the late supreme leader, was succeeded by his 56-year-old son, who is widely viewed as an equally hard-line ideologue with deep ties to the country’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. There are no indications of major fissures or breakaway opposition factions, according to current and former U.S. officials, lawmakers and experts.

“The regime is still intact, and continuity is the order of the day,” Alex Vatanka, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute think tank, told NBC News. “Politically, I don’t see any signs of defection or other factions choosing this moment in time to come up with a counter-worldview.”