Svmuu News According to U.S. President Trump this week, Iran's new leadership is "more moderate and more rational." Trump and the Pentagon have repeatedly claimed that a regime change has occurred. However, most political scientists and analysts believe that so-called regime change should refer to an external force altering a country's governance, not merely replacing the leader of the system. On the contrary, the war has instead strengthened the power of Iran's hardline military factions and intensified anti-American sentiment. Mona Yacoubian, Director of the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, stated: "This regime is more hawkish, less inclined to compromise, and frankly, more directly linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. We saw the 'decapitation-style' removal of Iran's supreme leader at the time, but this did not translate into a significant change in the power structure or its stance towards the United States." (Jin10)