US General: Regime Change in Iran 'Difficult'

A senior US military official said on the 19th that the US and Israel have been continuing joint military operations targeting Iran for the 20th day, predicting it would be difficult to succeed in forcibly changing Iran's leadership. The operation began on February 28th, following the death of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

In an interview with local media, retired US Army Lt. Gen. Mark Schwartz stated that the US and Israel would not succeed in completely replacing the Iranian regime due to numerous religious leaders and the deep-seated power of intelligence/security agencies and military organizations. Lt. Gen. Schwartz explained that there are dozens, if not hundreds, of religious leaders who can replace the Supreme Leader, and that the intelligence/security agencies and military organizations also possess considerable deep-seated power.

A warning was also issued that if the Iranian regime survives military strikes, it would rebuild its military, missile, and drone capabilities over several years. The US Department of Defense has already requested a budget of at least $200 billion from Congress for the cost of a war with Iran.