In case you were wondering why Iran seems to be happy with a near-miss revenge attack on US forces in the wake of the killing of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) General Qasem Soleimani, AL Monitor has an explanation – sort of:
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed that its barrage of surface-to-surface missiles against two US bases in neighboring Iraq early Jan. 8 killed over 80 US military personnel, leaving some 200 others injured. IRGC commanders announced that “tens of missiles” were launched, all precisely hitting the targets, with none being intercepted.
Yet hours later, in a televised address from the White House, US President Donald Trump denied any casualties, saying the bases had only been slightly damaged. According to Iraqi sources, 22 missiles came from Iran, striking the Ain al-Asad base in Anbar province as well as an air base in the Kurdish city of Erbil.
In the immediate aftermath of the attack, the Iranian leadership prided itself in fulfilling a promised “harsh revenge” for the death of its most powerful commander, Gen. Qasem Soleimani, assassinated in a US drone attack outside Baghdad International Airport last Friday.
The conventional explanation would be that the regime in Tehran is attempting to thread the needle between a home public which must see the regime as strong in retaliation, and facing a foreign enemy which could inflict incredible harm on Iran – and its own reputation – if it so chose to do so.
But all the posturing makes me wonder – did Supreme Leader Khamenei and the rest of the leadership of Iran actually think Soleimani was an asset? Or is there a silent relief that he’s gone?
I have no idea how to confirm this hypothesis, unless a defector pops up with relevant information.
