Eighteen days after the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran, killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in the first hours of the war, and eliminating other political and military leaders, it would have been safe to assume the power center of the Islamic Republic had been fatally destabilized.

"But as the third week of the war begins, it is becoming clear that this assessment does not match reality. Iran's power structure has overcome the initial shock," Middle East analyst Habib Hosseini‑Fard told DW.