As Israeli and American forces continue targeting key sites across Iran under Operation Roaring Lion and Operation Epic Fury, Israeli government officials believe the aerial assault phase of the campaign may conclude in the near future. However, they say the broader effort to topple the Iranian regime could take much longer and will ultimately depend on action from within Iran itself.

Senior ministers told Kan News that although the joint Israeli-American strikes are expected to wind down soon, the next phase will largely depend on internal developments inside Iran. “It may take about a year for the Iranian regime to fall,” ministers told Kan News. According to the officials, the joint Israeli-US strikes are expected to conclude soon, and then the center of gravity will move to the civilian sphere. “The work afterwards will be that of the Iranian people. Iran is a big country, and changing a regime that murders its protesters is a very complex task.”

Officials also pointed to several obstacles that could hinder internal opposition efforts, chief among them the Iranian regime’s sweeping restrictions on internet access.

The near-complete shutdown of online connectivity imposed since the start of the war has severely limited the ability of observers to assess conditions on the ground and has also made it far more difficult for protesters to organize and communicate.

Security officials said that at present, the circumstances necessary for a large-scale uprising have not yet fully developed. As a result, they indicated that military operations will continue in the coming days in an effort to further weaken the regime’s key institutions and centers of authority.

{Matzav.com}