On the eleventh day of the war, the conflict in the Middle East is shifting into a phase of sustained attrition — one in which Iran appears determined to exploit endurance, lower operational costs and employ a network of proxies to offset the technological and financial advantages of the United States and Israel.

Though the kinetic activity across the main theatre has remained comparatively limited during the past 24 hours, the effects of the operations continue to be strategically significant.

The reduced frequency of exchange of fire reflects an adjustment in strategy rather than a lull in hostilities. It appears both sides are conserving higher-value assets while consolidating the damage already inflicted.

Within Tehran, new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has consolidated his authority through rapid internal stabilisation, and continuation of war operations is widely interpreted as the first major signal that the strategic line of resistance and retaliation will continue under the new command structure.

Read more here.

A banner of Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei with late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and late supreme leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini on a building, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran on March 10. — WANA via Reuters
A banner of Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei with late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and late supreme leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini on a building, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran on March 10. — WANA via Reuters

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