Iran’s leaders are discovering they’re on their own against the US and Israel, without the network of proxies and allies that allowed them to project power in the Middle East and beyond.As the Islamic Republic confronts its most perilous moment in decades following the bombing of its nuclear facilities ordered by US President Donald Trump,

While Western hawks have long hoped military action would spark an internal revolt and regime change in Iran, opponents fear it could trigger chaos and bloodshed that could spill well beyond its borders.

The United States inserted itself into Israel’s war against Iran early Sunday by dropping 30,000-pound bombs on an uranium enrichment site buried under a mountain, a risky gambit that aimed to destroy the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program after months of failed diplomacy.