The consequences of an Israeli attack would doubtless be wide condemnation of the Jewish state in international forums, the UN in particular. More importantly, however, such a strike would solidify the mullahs’ control of Iran by appealing to the patriotism of all Iranians. It would force reformers and democrats who seek change to close ranks with the despised authoritarian regime.

As long as the regime of Ayatollah Khamenei and Ahmadinejad remains intact, bombing and destroying most of Iran’s nuclear facilities would at best only provide temporary relief. The cost of such bombing missions might be too prohibitive. Iran would unleash its dependencies — Syria, Hezbollah, and Hamas — against Israel’s population centers, with much greater damage to Israel’s civilian population than was caused by the Second Lebanon War of 2006.

Israel and the U.S. must focus on eliminating the current Iranian regime. The regime change should be undertaken by the oppressed minority groups within Iran who are currently combating the regime and its Revolutionary Guards. The persecuted and disaffected Iranian minorities (approximately 55 percent of Iran’s population), including many like the Ahwazi Arabs in the oil-rich Khuzestan region of southwestern Iran who are being forced off their lands by an ongoing campaign of ethnic cleansing, are ready to fight and die for their cause.