As the United States and Iran exchange military strikes across the Persian Gulf, one lesson should already be clear: Tehran’s nuclear ambitions are only one part of a much broader strategy for preserving the Iranian regime’s grip on power.

Recent attacks on military installations, commercial shipping, and regional infrastructure demonstrate that the regime’s nuclear ambitions are only one component of a broader system of coercion. Ballistic missiles, proxy militias, maritime intimidation, cyber operations, and domestic repression all serve the same strategic objective: preserving a regime whose greatest vulnerability lies not abroad, but at home.