Exactly. Regime change was a hope only, and not super realistic given the realities on the ground.

The real purpose of the war for the US was to degrade Iran’s capability for creating a nuclear weapon. They were getting close to that and now they are probably 6-10 years away again. That was the real mission and it is complete. That is why the effort is being wound down.

War won, war lost, whatever. That’s a pointless discussion mostly related to clueless commentators bloviating. Was the mission achieved? And the answer is that it was. For now.