---
title: "The Mosaic: Understanding Iran's Defensive Strategy."
description: "Tehran spent two decades building a military designed to lose battles and still survive. Three weeks into the war, its bet on outlasting American willpower appears to be holding."
url: https://fronts.co/videos/the-mosaic-understanding-irans-defensive-strategy.md
canonical: https://fronts.co/videos/the-mosaic-understanding-irans-defensive-strategy/
datePublished: 2026-03-17T18:00:40.000Z
dateModified: 2026-03-17T18:00:40.000Z
author:
  - name: Simon Whistler
    url: https://fronts.co/authors/simon-whistler/
publisher: Fronts
image: "https://media.fronts.co/cdn-cgi/image/width=1200,height=630,fit=cover,gravity=auto,quality=80,format=auto/images/articles/fronts-image-the-mosaic-understanding-irans-defensive-strategy.jpg"
type: NewsArticle
language: en
access: members
isAccessibleForFree: false
tokens: 81
---

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Tehran spent two decades building a military designed to lose battles and still survive. Three weeks into the war, its bet on outlasting American willpower appears to be holding.

---

Full analysis is behind the paywall. Read the gated piece at https://fronts.co/videos/the-mosaic-understanding-irans-defensive-strategy/.
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