The MOP is one heck of a weapon. Seen it during testing. Awsome capability and very ‘smart’ when it comes to weapons effects.
If we run in and “MOP” ‘em and while we are there we knock the pee outta their “leadership” (political and military), and then leave with a warning that we will come back and drop more on their head if they don't knock it off. . .and NOT care if they collapse and NOT do the usual re-built them after we destroy them.
But that's just me. . .
I've read up on this a bit to see if things have really changed. We're talking about one facility in a mountain, a model I thought I had thought Iran had chucked a long time ago. If they simply go for distributed processing (lots of mountains), that 'MOP' strategy goes away because we will lack sufficient intelligence with which to manage sufficient targets over time, particularly with all the international blowback there will be after the first strike. We may then slow it, but not stop it. So at this point, that part of the war is a matter of how much money Iran can amass to 'mass produce' nuclear production facilities. Fortunately for them, the US and Turkey appear to be coming to their aid by taking the Kurds out of their path to the Mediterranean. Bizzarro.
Your suggestion about the leadership is more to the point but has its own blowback. Once we start a "take off the head" strategy with nations, that game is on against us too (not that it isn't to a degree already). Such would probably be a good thing temporarily, in that we might be better off without DC for a while with our government distributed all over the country, but it is in some respects easier to keep tabs on our enemies with them all in one place. Representation might get better if the people know where their representatives live and have them within easy reach. Heck, they could even build a "Senator's mansion," complete with a tree or lamp-post in front by way of suggestion. :-)
Leviathan become goo. Sigh.