'Iran declared victory by waging asymmetric war'

Schanzer, in a conversation with ANI, said that the US and Israel waged war on Iran, and Iran declared victory simply by surviving. "This gets to a core question that has been really difficult to answer for all the wars of the 21st century. The United States and Israel have gone to war, and even if you look at a country like Russia, they go to war and win on a conventional level. They gain territory, degrade their enemy, and prevent their enemy from being able to fight with any real power. And yet, the other side declares victory simply by surviving--simply by waging an asymmetric war in response," he said on Tuesday (local time). 

Schanzer said that Iran claimed victory because it was able to close the Strait of Hormuz with a few asymmetric attacks. "That's exactly what's happened here. The U.S. and Israel have absolutely dominated the battlefield. They have air superiority; they've destroyed the missiles, the nukes, and the defense industrial base of the Islamic Republic. And yet, standing on the rubble, you have the IRGC waving the flag and saying they've won because they were able to close the Strait of Hormuz with a few asymmetric attacks," he said. 

Schanzer added, "This is, unfortunately, the playbook for modern warfare. Western nations that want to maintain their edge are going to have to start to redefine either what victory looks like or what the laws of war are at their core. We're just beginning to grapple with this because it's a problem that isn't going away." -- ANI