meanwhile, longer-term goals like deterrence or diplomacy might be more important than the physical damage. The US operation ended the war between Israel and Iran and in this sense, the strike may have acted more like a "reset button" than a war trigger. The US would be pursuing a classic "coercive diplomacy" model: first use military or economic pressure, then offer talks as a path for Iran to voluntarily dismantle its nuclear program, rather than be forced to. In other words, hit just hard enough to bring Iran back to the negotiating table without triggering all-out war. The fact that the strike only set Iran's program back by a few months suggests the military option can't be the long-term solution, diplomacy has to follow, or it'll be a constant cycle of rebuild and bomb.
On the other hand, it was a good test and experiment of MOPs. I am sure they will be improved shortly.
