, Columnist
War With Iran Is Not Inevitable
Tehran knows direct conflict would impose huge costs on the Islamic Republic.
He has a big decision to make
Photographer: Iranian Leader Press Office / Handout/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images/AnadoluThis article is for subscribers only.
Now that the U.S. has taken out Qassem Soleimani, arguably the most important military figure in the 40-year history of the Islamic Republic, conventional wisdom holds that Tehran must respond with extreme prejudice. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has promised “severe retaliation,” and his regime is putting out videos of thousands of Iranian mourners demanding vengeance.
What might that mean? Many commentators—and not only in Iran or the U.S—are suggesting that a new war in the Middle East is inevitable. Some liken Soleimani’s killing to the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and on Twitter the hashtag #WWIII has been trending.