The United States and Israel launched devastating attacks on Iran this weekend, killing Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and inflicting widespread destruction. This military action follows a systematic degradation of Iran's power across the Middle East over the past 2½ years, which experts say directly led to the current offensive. The strikes represent the culmination of a strategy that began after Hamas's October 7, 2023, assault on Israel.

Israeli forces have systematically weakened Iran's proxy network since the Gaza war began. In Lebanon, Israeli airstrikes killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and destroyed much of the militant group's arsenal of approximately 150,000 rockets and missiles. The conflict expanded to include Yemen's Houthi rebels, who fired rockets at Red Sea vessels, and Iraq's Islamic Resistance militias targeting U.S. bases. Syria's Assad regime fell, cutting off a major Iranian weapons supply route.

Regional experts note that Iran's proxy groups have largely stayed on the sidelines during recent conflicts, calculating that their survival depends on avoiding direct confrontation. Hezbollah briefly broke this pattern Monday by firing missiles into Israel, prompting immediate retaliation. The autonomous nature of these groups has reduced Iran's ability to coordinate unified responses. With Iran's nuclear program decimated and its regional influence severely diminished, the weekend's attacks mark a fundamental shift in Middle East power dynamics that began with Hamas's October 7 assault and has accelerated through years of proxy warfare.