Operation Midnight Hammer, the United States’ recent strike against Iranian nuclear infrastructure, and Israel’s Operation Rising Lion, which dismantled Iran’s covert infrastructure and paved the way for the US attack, have forced the Islamic Republic into a new phase of strategic decision-making.
Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei now faces difficult choices. He needs to weigh Iran’s long-term ambitions for regional power against the risks of deeper military escalation and the threat of growing unrest inside the country. His regime is under pressure to project strength abroad while containing dissent at home.
What is Khamenei’s calculus after these strikes? And where does Iran go from here?
Join Zineb Riboua, research fellow and program manager at Hudson Institute’s Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East, for a conversation with Mariam Memarsadeghi, senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, and Dr. Ladan Boroumand, cofounder of the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights. They will examine Iran’s internal power struggles, the future of its resistance movement, and the potential consequences Khamenei’s next moves will have for the region.