Arash Azizi: “This is a terrifying moment for Iran. Khamenei has long pursued what he calls a ‘no peace, no war’ strategy: Iran supports regional militias opposed to Western interests and the Jewish state but avoids actually getting into a war. The approach was always untenable.”
“But Iran is not ready for an all-out war: Its economically battered society does not share its leaders’ animus toward Israel, and its military capabilities don’t even begin to match Israel’s sophisticated arsenal. Iran lacks significant air-defense capabilities on its own, and Russia has not leapt to complement them.”
Said a source in close to the Iranian military: “We don’t have a fucking air force… I don’t know what they are thinking.”
