India, April 29 -- In moments of heightened crisis, great powers often fall prey to a familiar illusion: the belief that force can impose order on complexity. Today, as tensions between the United States and Iran continue to simmer, that illusion is once again shaping strategic thinking in ways that risk destabilising not only the Middle East, but the international system itself. Regardless of intention, the elimination of Iranian state capacity produces consequences that align with long-standing US strategic interests-BRI disruption, INSTC collapse, dollar hegemony reinforcement, Russia-China exposure. These consequences are real whether Washington planned them or not. What we are witnessing is not the calculated aggression of a collapsi...