Tehran: The End of Totalitarianism. He sees today's Iran as a system in which religion has become subordinate to politics, and politics itself is increasingly subordinate to the Revolutionary Guards. In his view, the succession after Khamenei does not reflect institutional legitimacy so much as coercive power, and the new leadership appears far weaker and more dependent than the previous one.

According to France24.com, the regime survives not because it commands broad popular support, but because it still knows how to exploit fear, repression, geopolitical limits, and the vulnerabilities of stronger adversaries.

Khajkvar points out that Iran is not strong, but it remains dangerous precisely because weakness can produce improvisation, retaliation, and creative forms of asymmetric disruption. Khajkvar describes the web as "the revenge of the weak against the strong." Cyberterrorism can be a highly effective tool for Iran to level the playing field and make up for the "obvious disproportion between the Iranian military and the American forces."

In this sense, explains Khajkvar, "Iran is playing the game" with a powerful weapon to take on American might by unleashing "mental, subjective impact" that will also garner heavy media coverage.