How China Is Winning the Iran War | Jon Alterman

The conflict between the United States and Iran stems from a fundamental mismatch in strategic expectations, where Washington’s preference for rapid, decisive military action clashes with Tehran’s long-term endurance and reliance on a constellation of asymmetric tools. Jon Alterman, the Zbigniew Brzezinski Chair at CSIS, argues that the U.S. decapitation strategy failed to account for Iran’s grit and its ability to weaponize its pariah status. By integrating U.S. and Israeli military operations, the administration inadvertently pushed Tehran into an existential struggle, incentivizing the regime to maintain its nuclear program as a vital bargaining chip. While the U.S. seeks quick political outcomes through overwhelming force, the Iranian leadership views the conflict as a generational test of resolve, effectively stalling diplomatic progress and forcing the U.S. into an open-ended regional commitment that ultimately benefits strategic rivals like China.