https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/15475/us-regime-change-iran
Aiding the Iranian people to oust the regime does not, however, require the US to launch a full-fledged war with the Islamic Republic.
On the contrary, a four-pronged strategy of maximum pressure — involving continued financial pressure on the mullahs; helping local forces expel Iranian proxy groups from Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen; supporting the Iranian protesters through a robust social-media campaign promising a future without repression and terror, and using appropriate military force to deter and protect our interests — would get the job done without troops on the ground.
The goal of US policy on Iran, really to exert “maximum pressure,” should be the change of the mullah-led regime in Tehran before it is armed with nuclear weapons, becomes the hegemon of the Persian Gulf and commands much of the world’s oil and gas. Iran is already seeking to take over Iraq, OPEC’s second-largest crude oil producer, with the fifth-largest oil reserves, in the world.
But helping to spur the end of the Iranian empire — or, at least, keeping its power in check — cannot be accomplished without a clear knowledge and understanding of the nature of the regime.