The real question is not whether the United States can destroy Iran's capabilities, but whether it can end the Islamic Republic—and control what follows. Air superiority is a military condition; regime change is a political outcome. When it comes to discussing imminent American strikes on Iran, people often confuse the two, as if one automatically causes the other. It does not. If anything, Israel's 2023-25 experiences in Iran, Lebanon and Syria have shown that modern air campaigns can be extraordinarily effective at damaging an adversary's defensive structures, yet still leave an opponent intact but bloodied, paranoid, and still wielding the coercive machinery that matters.