Feature: Six months on, Iran is still standing, but survival is becoming more costly
It has been six months since the United States and Israel launched their coordinated military campaign against Iran on February 28. The war is easily cast as the latest turn in the long antagonism between Washington and Tehran, but that frame misses its immediate context. Its real context is the aftermath of October 7, 2023: […] The post Feature: Six months on, Iran is still standing, but…
Six months have passed since the US and Israel initiated their military campaign against Iran on February 28. The war, easily perceived as the latest chapter in the longstanding tension between Washington and Tehran, is rooted in the aftermath of Israel's genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023. This conflict propelled Iran's allies into increasing confrontation, leading to the 12-day war in June 2025 and the US-Israel campaign launched this February.
The US and Israel's "maximum pressure" strategy, aimed at driving Iran's oil exports to zero, failed to produce political change. Economic coercion eventually gave way to military force, and six months later, the campaign has come full circle, resuming with intensified economic pressure. Tehran's survival, once considered a victory, is now more challenging to maintain as the pressure shifts to the area where Iran has always been vulnerable.
At the top of the Iranian leadership, changes are evident. After the assassination of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, his son Mojtaba was appointed as Supreme Leader, but has not made a verified public appearance since his appointment more than a week later. The state has had to reorganize its command structure amidst the war, with new military leadership appointed in August. However, rebuilding high command amidst the conflict indicates the state is not operating from a position of strength.
The war has returned to its economic origins with the heightened US campaign, which launched Operation Economic Outcast, targeting Iran's financial links with the outside world. Iran's oil exports, which had fallen below half a million barrels a day, continue to struggle, while inflation has risen to nearly 90%, with food prices more than doubling in the past year.
Despite these economic challenges, the siege hits an economy that was already weakened by sanctions dating back to the 1980s and UN Security Council resolutions since 2006.
Iran's structural exposure and the state's inability to insulate itself from an architecture built over decades have made it vulnerable to the economic weapon. The naval blockade, which has not been lifted, has now fused with the closure into a single chokehold on Iran's trade. This pressure is forcing a longstanding divergence within Iranian leadership, where the political leadership acknowledges governance failures, while the security establishment attributes unrest to external enemies.
This divide is now evident in the differing views on the war's outcome, with President Pezeshkian advocating for an early end to the conflict, while his chief negotiator stresses the importance of diplomacy in the face of mounting economic difficulties.
Written by urgent.news from The Chronicle Ghana's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
