Not like Venezuela: why Iran is likely to survive US-Israeli strikes

Iran’s leadership is likely to prove resilient despite US-Israeli decapitation tactics, analysts say.Dozens of senior Iranian officials, including the former supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and national security chief Ali Larijani, have been killed since the start of the bombing raids on February 28.Tehran has argued these changes do not matter. “Of course, individuals are influential, and each person plays their role – some better, some worse, some less – but what matters is that the political system in Iran is very solid,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Al Jazeera earlier this month.The war in Iran has entered its fourth week, with US President Donald Trump threatening to send more warships and marines to the region.The possible escalation is in sharp contrast with the US raid on Venezuela earlier this year, when President Nicolas Maduro and his wife were abducted in a three-hour raid.The conflict has led to a major spike in oil prices, and President Donald Trump said on Monday that the United States would halt strikes on power plants for the next five days.