The hottest Regime Change Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways

Trump Starts a Major Regime-Change War with Iran, Serving Neoconservatism and Israel

Glenn Greenwald • 6015 implied HN points • 28 Feb 26

🌍 World Politics Regime Change

The Trump administration has launched a large-scale regime-change war against Iran that serves long-standing neoconservative and Israeli goals.
This action directly contradicts Trump’s decade-long promises to end regime-change wars, betraying the anti-war stance many of his supporters expected.
The war lacks a clear justification, congressional approval, or exit strategy and risks massive, unpredictable destruction and prolonged U.S. entanglement in the Middle East.

How This War Ends

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 1010 implied HN points • 13 Mar 26

🌍 World Politics Regime Change

This conflict is more like a Cold War than Afghanistan, meaning it calls for a long-term strategic containment campaign rather than short counterinsurgency operations.
U.S. goals have been inconsistent and shifting, so it's unclear which objectives would end the war or be accepted as 'victory'.
Victory would require massive initial military force followed by sustained total containment, unless the Iranian regime collapses or is overthrown internally.

Judge Foreign Policy Decisions by Their Immediate Impacts

Richard Hanania's Newsletter • 1682 implied HN points • 16 Mar 26

🌍 World Politics Regime Change

Judge foreign policy by its immediate impacts and short-term market signals, since markets aggregate information and reflect what people with money at stake expect. Reserve judgment only briefly while events are still unfolding, but don’t wait years or generations to decide.
When early indicators all point positive—rising markets, political openings, and clearer paths to better governance—treat the intervention as a success relative to the likely alternative rather than chasing long-run counterfactuals. Use these proximate signals as your baseline for comparison.
If signals are mixed or the situation is early, hold off and weigh market losses and economic costs against gains in policy objectives using a short, clear horizon; employ market proxies plus simple cost–benefit tools (including statistical value of life) rather than waiting indefinitely.

A Strategic Failure in Iran

QTR’s Fringe Finance • 32 implied HN points • 23 Mar 26

🌍 World Politics Regime Change

A short, intense bombing campaign caused tactical damage but failed to achieve its strategic goals: Iran’s nuclear program survives and the regime remains intact, with hardliners gaining strength.
Claims that Iran was only weeks from a bomb lacked credible evidence, and U.S. negotiators and intelligence failures meant diplomacy was mishandled while airpower alone cannot destroy dispersed, deeply buried nuclear materials.
The conflict risks dragging the United States into a prolonged, costly war that disrupts global energy markets and may incentivize Iran to keep or pursue nuclear capabilities, so further escalation would be dangerous and costly.

War Propaganda and Iran: The Exact Script Used for Every Failed US War Is Hauled Out Again

Glenn Greenwald • 4749 implied HN points • 23 Feb 26

🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Regime Change

Governments and media keep recycling the same discredited propaganda to sell new wars, claiming humanitarian motives while hiding strategic or political aims.
Friendly exiles and lurid atrocity stories are staged and amplified to portray targets as uniquely evil and eager for liberation, even when those claims are unreliable or false.
Critics of proposed wars are routinely smeared as enemy sympathizers, which suppresses dissent, ignores public opinion, and allows destructive conflicts to proceed with little accountability.

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What Iranians Really Think About the War

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 1321 implied HN points • 09 Mar 26

🌍 World Politics Regime Change

People are terrified and exhausted by heavy bombing, but many feel they've lived under state terror for decades.
The state appears to be unraveling and many hope the conflict might end the regime, though past brutal crackdowns make people wary of what comes next.
The war is causing real civilian suffering and uncertainty, with strikes aimed at regime sites but still killing children and making daily life dominated by explosions and rumors.

Monopoly Round-Up: A Gunboat Oligarchy Goes After Venezuelan Oil

BIG by Matt Stoller • 29107 implied HN points • 05 Jan 26

🌍 World Politics Regime Change

The U.S. seizure of Venezuelan oil marks a return to gunboat-style intervention where government action is clearly serving big finance and energy interests.
Widespread anger at oligarchs and weak Democratic leadership is opening space for new, populist reformers, highlighted by Zohran Mamdani’s early moves and proposals like a billionaire tax.
America’s deindustrialization and China’s manufacturing rise are shifting global power, while domestic deregulation and a merger boom favor financiers and risk deeper consolidation and backlash.

Timeline: The March To War With Iran

TK News by Matt Taibbi • 2542 implied HN points • 01 Mar 26

🌍 World Politics Regime Change

The U.S. and Israel moved from sanctions and covert planning to open military strikes, culminating in a large joint operation aimed at crippling Iran’s nuclear and military capabilities and pushing for regime change.
Diplomacy and inspections continued even as attacks happened: multiple U.S.–Iran talks mediated by Oman, IAEA oversight, and snapback UN sanctions all unfolded, but experts disagreed about how much Iran’s nuclear program was actually degraded.
Mass protests in Iran and a violent government crackdown, combined with economic pressure like a deliberate dollar shortage, became focal points for international action and rhetoric, deepening regional instability and splitting global responses.

Niall Ferguson: Khamenei May Be Gone, but Iran 2026 Is Not Iraq 2003

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 2109 implied HN points • 28 Feb 26

🌍 World Politics Regime Change

The U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran are expected to be short and limited rather than a long, drawn-out war.
This action is being framed as different from the 2003 Iraq invasion — focused more on targeted “regime alteration” than on full-scale regime change and occupation.
Many critics will compare this to past U.S. interventions and warn that aggressive American actions often cause widespread damage and have mixed, unpredictable outcomes.

Tell Iranian And Cuban Diaspora Warmongers To Shut The Fuck Up

Caitlin’s Newsletter • 2817 implied HN points • 22 Feb 26

🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Regime Change

Some people from the Iranian or Cuban diaspora push for US military intervention and try to silence critics, and those bullying tactics should be called out. You don’t have to defer to them just because of their family background.
Opposing imperialist wars and sanctions is everyone’s right, even if you aren’t from the targeted country. Lived experience doesn’t give anyone a veto over criticizing warmongering policies.
Backing US interventions or the economic strangling of countries is morally wrong and often serves powerful, dangerous interests. People who advance those agendas should be opposed, not given special deference.

If You Think The US Wants To Bring Democracy To Iran, Watch What They're Currently Doing To Iraq

Caitlin’s Newsletter • 2211 implied HN points • 24 Feb 26

🌍 World Politics Regime Change

The US is using economic levers—like control of Iraq’s oil revenue—to pressure Iraqi political choices, for example by pushing against Nouri al‑Maliki’s bid for prime minister.
America often reshapes governments and economies to keep friendly rulers in power, so its talk of bringing democracy can mask direct control and interference.
Policy toward Iran looks aimed at weakening or fragmenting the country to maintain dominance rather than promoting democracy, with some strategists even advocating balkanization.

Googoosh: Iran’s Freedom Is Within Reach

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 445 implied HN points • 12 Mar 26

🌍 World Politics Regime Change

The 1979 Islamic Revolution replaced the old order with a theocratic regime that repressed culture and sharply curtailed women’s rights, silencing prominent artists.
Many people lived through bans, war, and exile; some left to reclaim their voices but remained deeply attached to their homeland.
After decades of authoritarian rule and decline, the regime now seems vulnerable and a secular, democratic future for Iran feels within reach.

This Is How the Islamic Republic Falls

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 1423 implied HN points • 28 Feb 26

🌍 World Politics Regime Change

The U.S. and Israeli air strikes hit Iran’s infrastructure and were portrayed as a move to open a better future for the Iranian people.
The strikes came after weeks of diplomacy, naval buildup, and Western frustration that threats and demands hadn’t changed Iran’s behavior.
The Islamic Republic doesn’t always respond like a rational state; its revolutionary ideology is weakening its hold on the population and eroding its domestic power.

Can the U.S. Achieve Regime Change in Iran? Plus. . .

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 412 implied HN points • 11 Mar 26

🌍 World Politics Regime Change

Prominent voices are debating whether the U.S. can and should topple Iran’s theocratic regime; supporters worry about the risk of a nuclear-armed Iran, while opponents warn that a preventive war could unleash far greater costs and global instability.
The conflict is already exacting a human toll and spilling across the region: U.S. service members have been killed and injured, military families are struggling, and hundreds of thousands of Lebanese have been displaced as fighting expands.
Tech and online trends are reshaping public life and security — from a pricey anti-surveillance gadget and major AI industry moves to platforms expanding deepfake detection and a troubling surge in anti-Indian hate driven by a handful of accounts.

The War Is Iranians’ Best Chance at Peace

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 1136 implied HN points • 01 Mar 26

🌍 World Politics Regime Change

Some peace advocates ignore how Iran’s own government represses and hurts its people, treating calm as acceptable even when citizens suffer daily.
Many Iranians reject that hollow peace because the regime prizes martyrdom rhetoric and funnels scarce resources to proxies instead of caring for its people.
Iranians don’t want war, but many see external pressure or conflict as the most likely way to end the regime and achieve a real, lasting peace.

If You Want Freedom and Democracy For Iranian People and All Peoples, You Must Start By Admitting What America Is and Does

Freddie deBoer • 7054 implied HN points • 15 Jan 26

🌍 World Politics Regime Change

The United States often intervenes abroad to secure strategic and economic interests, not to install genuine democracy, and can openly prioritize access to resources like oil over self-determination.
Historical interventions — from Iran’s 1953 coup to wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, and recent meddling in Venezuela — usually produce authoritarianism, corruption, militias, and instability instead of freedom, so skepticism of intervention is rational.
Opposing U.S. intervention does not equal supporting oppressive regimes; people can want internal change while also rejecting foreign control, and restraint in using force helps avoid repeating past harms.

Simon Sebag Montefiore: The Dictator's Death and the Dawn of a New Mideast

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 843 implied HN points • 01 Mar 26

🌍 World Politics Regime Change

The killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader is a watershed event that could reshape Iran and the wider Middle East, with consequences that may ripple across the world.
The U.S.-led strikes represent a high-stakes gamble: their aims may be noble, but the risks are enormous and the outcomes highly unpredictable, even for American democracy.
It’s unclear whether Iranians can turn this moment into a successful popular overthrow because they lack arms and organization, and uncertainty about succession means a new, possibly more radical leader could emerge or the regime could collapse.

It’s Been One Week of War in Iran. Here’s What We’ve Learned.

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 519 implied HN points • 06 Mar 26

🌍 World Politics Regime Change

A joint U.S.-Israel attack killed Iran’s top leadership and many senior commanders, marking an unprecedented escalation in the conflict.
Iran retaliated with missile and drone strikes across the region targeting Israel, U.S. bases, and other countries, which has already caused U.S. military deaths and widened the war.
U.S. public support is low and many worry this could be a long, unpredictable war; experts warn it might spark internal collapse in Iran and will reshape power dynamics across the Middle East and beyond.

Donald Trump’s Strategy of Decapitation

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 672 implied HN points • 28 Feb 26

🌍 World Politics Regime Change

The United States and Israel, led by Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu, shifted from coercion to a decapitation strategy and launched strikes aimed at Iran’s supreme leader.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s fate is unclear—officials say he may be dead or hiding—so he is now being treated as a target rather than a negotiating partner.
Planners on the attacking side had long prepared 'day after' contingencies for how to manage the situation if the supreme leader were removed.

Only Idiots Believe The War Propaganda About Iran

Caitlin’s Newsletter • 2659 implied HN points • 30 Jan 26

🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Regime Change

The push to overthrow Iran is about power and control, not bringing freedom or democracy, so official claims and media narratives about Iran should be treated with deep skepticism.
Forcibly toppling Iran would likely result in puppet governments, balkanization, chaos, or a devastating war, all of which would harm ordinary Iranians and the region.
Given what happened in Iraq, Libya, and Gaza, it's unacceptable to fall for war propaganda or support regime-change campaigns; people should reject calls to manufacture consent for such wars.

The US Keeps Openly Admitting It Deliberately Caused The Iran Protests

Caitlin’s Newsletter • 1899 implied HN points • 06 Feb 26

🌍 World Politics Regime Change

US officials have openly admitted to using sanctions and financial measures to create a dollar shortage and collapse Iran’s economy in order to spark mass protests.
That approach is described as "economic statecraft" meant to pressure or topple the government without shooting, but it produces severe human suffering through inflation, shortages, and poverty.
The same tactics and rhetoric have been applied or suggested toward other countries, and leaders have publicly encouraged protesters, indicating a broader pattern of using economic pressure to try to force regime change.

Regime Change in Venezuela Is a Good Calculated Risk

Richard Hanania's Newsletter • 6022 implied HN points • 03 Jan 26

🌍 World Politics Regime Change

Overthrowing Maduro was a calculated risk because his socialist rule devastated Venezuela’s economy and institutions, and replacing him could produce meaningful improvement.
Fears about unintended consequences, civil war, or breaches of international law are real but don’t automatically justify keeping a destructive dictator in power; doing nothing also has severe costs.
The taboo against foreign regime change is weak already, so this single operation is unlikely to upend international norms, and sometimes taking risks is necessary to create hope for better outcomes.

The Four Paths for a Post-Khamenei Iran

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 282 implied HN points • 06 Mar 26

🌍 World Politics Regime Change

The death of Iran's Supreme Leader has left the regime at a critical inflection point, creating real uncertainty about its political future.
Despite that loss, the regime remains militarily aggressive, launching missiles and drones at U.S. bases, Israeli cities, and neighboring states.
The main question now is which direction Iran will take and how the U.S. will respond — whether the Islamic Republic collapses, reforms, hardens, or endures.

Who Will Govern Iran After the War?

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 287 implied HN points • 05 Mar 26

🌍 World Politics Regime Change

Military strikes that are degrading Iran’s regime and killing its leaders have created an urgent power vacuum and a pressing question about who will lead after the war.
The expatriate opposition is deeply fractured and has long argued over leadership, so organizing a united transition is more urgent than choosing a formal president.
Reza Pahlavi is the most visible figure claiming leadership, promoting a policy platform and saying many Iranians are calling for him to lead the post‑regime transition.

The US Is Pushing So Many Regime Change Agendas It's Hard To Keep Up

Caitlin’s Newsletter • 1862 implied HN points • 30 Jan 26

🌍 World Politics Regime Change

The US is actively trying to force regime change in Cuba right now, using new executive orders and efforts to pressure or replace the government.
Washington is using economic warfare—cutting off oil supplies and punishing countries that help Cuba—to make populations suffer and provoke unrest that could topple regimes.
This approach repeats across many countries and reflects a broader strategy of imperial control that prioritizes geopolitical domination over other nations' sovereignty and civilian wellbeing.

‘If You Look at People’s Eyes, All of the Light Is Coming Back’

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 375 implied HN points • 01 Mar 26

🌍 World Politics Regime Change

Many Iranian Americans feel both sorrow for protesters killed and renewed hope that the supreme leader's death could open a real chance for democracy and greater freedom in Iran.
Public gatherings in Washington shifted from vigils to celebrations, with people waving U.S., Israeli, and prerevolutionary Iranian flags and expressing support for Reza Pahlavi as a transitional leader.
Some attendees said the strike fulfilled promises of outside help toward regime change and voiced frustration with Democrats who opposed the attacks.

John Bolton: If There Ever Were a Moment to Topple Iran, This Is It

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 380 implied HN points • 28 Feb 26

🌍 World Politics Regime Change

The US and Israel launched a major joint military operation called Operation Epic Fury that struck Iran’s regime infrastructure and reportedly killed top leaders including the supreme leader.
President Trump presents the strikes as a chance to destroy Iran’s missile and nuclear programs and as an opportunity for regime change that could free the Iranian people.
John Bolton strongly supports the operation, calling it justified and necessary and arguing that removing Iran’s top leaders will likely cause the regime to fall.

They Kidnapped Maduro Because The World Is Ruled By Unaccountable Tyrants

Caitlin’s Newsletter • 3413 implied HN points • 04 Jan 26

🌍 World Politics Regime Change

The U.S. carried out a military operation in Venezuela that abducted President Maduro, and its leaders openly framed the action as a move to seize and profit from Venezuela’s oil and to run the country.
This episode shows a pattern where powerful states pursue regime change and resource grabs with little accountability, while official stories about drugs or democracy are used to mask true motives.
Unchecked use of force backed by compliant media undermines global stability and harms the future of people and the planet, so citizens should learn these patterns and be skeptical of official justifications for intervention.

Making it up as they go along

Comment is Freed • 188 implied HN points • 08 Mar 26

🌍 World Politics Regime Change

Military strikes and public calls for regime change have escalated the conflict, but there’s no clear plan or willingness to commit forces to actually topple the government, which raises the risk of a long, unpopular war.
The regime is fragile because of repression, corruption, mismanagement, sanctions and a failing economy, so many people want change even as the state struggles to govern effectively.
History shows that degrading a government’s military or leadership doesn’t quickly produce collapse; the regime still has guns and leadership capacity, so fighting for survival is likely to be prolonged and unpredictable.

The US/Israeli Bombing Of Iran: Means and Ways Without Ends

Phillips’s Newsletter • 388 implied HN points • 02 Mar 26

🌍 World Politics Regime Change

The bombing campaign looks driven by one leader's personal and political needs rather than a clear national interest, showing how much leadership choices can override state rationality.
There is no stable strategic 'end' guiding the action, so the claimed 'ways' and 'means' keep changing as leaders flail for a victory they can sell, making traditional Ends‑Ways‑Means analysis misleading here.
Treating the military and Iranian people as tools is dangerous—public support is low and the unpredictability of these decisions raises the risk of costly, unintended consequences.

The USA And Israel Have Started Bombing Iran: A Primer

Phillips’s Newsletter • 372 implied HN points • 28 Feb 26

🌍 World Politics Regime Change

The US and Israel have concentrated a huge amount of air and sea strike power around Iran — carriers, destroyers, submarines, and stealth aircraft — making one of the largest strike forces in decades.
The publicly stated goal is regime change in Iran rather than a negotiated nuclear deal, with leaders framing limited military action as a way to overthrow the Iranian government.
Key unknowns are how they will achieve regime change: can they locate and decapitate Iran’s leadership, have they secured inside collaborators, and will the Iranian people or military rise up — watch for leadership hits, defections, or mass protests.

On "Leftists" And "Anarchists" Who Cheer For Regime Change In Iran

Caitlin’s Newsletter • 1858 implied HN points • 15 Jan 26

🌍 World Politics Regime Change

When leftists or anarchists cheer the fall of governments targeted by the US, they risk supporting the same agendas as the US State Department and undermining their anti-imperial stance.
The US-centered western empire uses war, sanctions, coups, and bases to dominate the globe, so a simple "tyranny bad" view misses how resistant states hold power partly to block imperial interference.
Toppling an authoritarian state without a ready revolutionary vanguard usually creates a power vacuum that the strongest, often US-backed, faction will fill, which can expand imperial control rather than bring real freedom.

You Can't Cheer For Regime Change In Iran Without Also Cheering For The US Empire

Caitlin’s Newsletter • 1932 implied HN points • 11 Jan 26

🌍 World Politics Regime Change

US and allied actions like crushing sanctions and covert meddling have been used to weaken Iran by hurting ordinary people, which fuels unrest and can function as engineered pressure for regime change.
Backing regime change in Iran effectively helps the US-centered imperial project, so opposing state violence while cheering for regime change is inconsistent and ultimately strengthens a more powerful, abusive actor.
What’s needed is to weaken that western imperial power rather than topple its enemies into the empire’s hands, because real freedom depends on dismantling centralized global domination, not expanding it.

The Imperial Murder Machine Is In A State Of Hyperactivity

Caitlin’s Newsletter • 1872 implied HN points • 12 Jan 26

🌍 World Politics Regime Change

The US imperial apparatus is unusually active, launching or backing military operations and interventions across the Middle East, Ukraine, and Latin America.
This surge of aggressive moves suggests the empire still holds significant power and is rapidly consolidating influence rather than fading away.
The counter is popular awakening and collective action; people need to break through propaganda and use their numbers to resist and limit imperial power.

We're Always Told That Everyone In The Empire-Targeted Nation Hates Their Government

Caitlin’s Newsletter • 1830 implied HN points • 13 Jan 26

🌍 World Politics Regime Change

People in countries targeted for regime change are not a political monolith; there are always diverse opinions about their government.
Talk about bringing “democracy” or “freedom” is often used as a pretext to justify intervention and install puppet regimes that serve imperial interests.
When westerners cheer for foreign regime change they can feed propaganda and enable military action, so outsiders should avoid pushing intervention and let the people in that country decide their future.

The Real Tyrannical Regime

Caitlin’s Newsletter • 1788 implied HN points • 08 Jan 26

🌍 World Politics Regime Change

The real tyrant is the power that invades other countries, topples governments, starves populations with sanctions, and surrounds the world with military bases, not the nations resisting them.
Political talk about ‘tyrants’ is often hypocritical and shaped by PR — people cheer or condemn interventions depending on who benefits, and propaganda is being used to normalize military action across political bases.
Normalizing quick, low-cost attacks risks repeating past escalations like the Gulf War leading to Iraq, making bigger wars more likely and encouraging more militarized repression at home.

The Imperial Crosshairs Move To Cuba, And Other Notes

Caitlin’s Newsletter • 1620 implied HN points • 12 Jan 26

🌍 World Politics Regime Change

The United States is aggressively reasserting imperial control in Latin America and the Middle East, pressuring countries like Cuba and Venezuela and carrying out military and regime-change actions.
Political promises to fight the deep state have given way to advancing neocon and intelligence-agency agendas, creating chaos that helps authoritarian politics at home.
There is stark media and policy bias: Palestinian civilian deaths are downplayed while calls for regime change (e.g., Iran) would expand US imperial power, so opposing intervention and defending the right to criticize Israel are framed as both moral and civil-rights imperatives.

A War Foretold

Taipology • 74 implied HN points • 28 Feb 26

🌍 World Politics Regime Change

The US, with Israel playing a leading role, appears to be pursuing a long-planned regime-change campaign against Iran that may rely on regional proxies rather than large numbers of American ground troops.
Iran has struck back effectively with missiles, making the fight likely to be prolonged and costly; putting Tehran on "death ground" guarantees fierce resistance and raises the risk of a quagmire for the US.
The strategic benefits for the United States are unclear, and the conflict may actually help China geopolitically because China’s oil supply is diversified and it can leverage other economic levers rather than being contained by a war in the Middle East.

With ‘Epic Fury’, regime change radicals go to war on Iran

Aaron Mate • 196 implied HN points • 02 Mar 26

🌍 World Politics Regime Change

The US and Israel launched "Operation Epic Fury" to pursue regime change in Iran, carrying out assassinations and bombings that caused heavy civilian casualties and quickly widened the fighting across the region.
What looked like diplomacy was largely a cover, as US negotiators pretended to seek a deal while preparing military strikes and undermining a possible agreement.
The official reasons for war — that Iran was on the brink of a nuclear weapon or an imminent missile threat — were exaggerated or false, suggesting the action is ideologically driven and risks a catastrophic, open-ended conflict.

Trump Finds the Golden Mean in Venezuela

Richard Hanania's Newsletter • 1414 implied HN points • 07 Jan 26

🌍 World Politics Regime Change

Replacing a leader can change how a regime behaves even if its official ideology stays the same, because individual leaders bring different goals and risk tolerances.
Leaving the new acting leader in place instead of trying to rebuild the whole government is a cautious, gradualist choice that avoids the big costs and dangers of instant regime reconstruction.
The new leader appears more pragmatic, having pursued pro-market steps and made conciliatory moves, so U.S. leverage and credible threats could push Venezuela toward better policies and cooperation.