US attacked Iraq in 2003, thats 22 years ago.
22 years you had the time to forge a strategic militairy relationship with two powerfull neighbours like Turkey and Pakistan, a strong trinity. And even befriend a strategic Shia-neihgbour like Azerbaijan and keep them out of Israeli hemisphere.
22 years you had the time to enter China’s military industrial complex and buy Chinese jets and Chinese Air Defence.
You could pay them with your oil. Turkey, Pakistan and China all three have the tools to import Iranian oil under the radar of sanctions.
Instead you harmed all your neighbourly relations, supporting Balochi terrorists and attacking Pakistan, never accepting a joint military crackdown with Turkey against the Kurdish terror on both borders, fighting together with Assad against Turkey in Syria, relying on Russian weapons which never came anyway, frustrating a strategic important Shia-nation like Azerbaidjan by supporting a strategic useless Armenia, standing behind India instead of Pakistan, wasted your time with investing billions of dollars in ragtag-towelheads in Iraq and Syria with no favour in return.
Are the Mullah clerics happy now?