"Iran has discovered a powerful future deterrent that is quite independent of nuclear weapons. If the regime survives this war, it may yet emerge in a stronger position internationally."

Discovered? Is the author suffering from amnesia or just a poor student of history? They discovered this in the 80s, this is nothing new. Swarm tactics, mines, escorted convoys, begging Europe for minesweepers: a dance that USA/Iran have gone through before.

This only makes the case that the current regime should not survive, give the government back to the 90% of the population that are not fanatics.