The Iranian Foreign Ministry’s constant refrain of a “comprehensive and regrettable response” to any aggression has finally been called out by Washington. The arrival of the USS Abraham Lincoln proves that the US is no longer deterred by Tehran’s threats of regional chaos. The Iranian government is bracing for a strike that will expose their defensive rhetoric as a total bluff, as their ability to actually carry out such a response is questioned by military analysts.
The “shattered” military capabilities following the June war mean that Iran’s “regrettable” response would likely be limited to a few desperate missile launches and proxy attacks. The Iranian government is bracing for a strike that will neutralize these threats before they can even be authorized. The “massive fleet” possesses advanced Aegis missile defense systems and electronic countermeasures that make the regime’s threats look increasingly hollow.
Foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei has warned that “insecurity will befall everyone,” but the world is already seeing the insecurity the regime has brought upon its own 90 million citizens. The Iranian government is bracing for a strike that will prove that the international community is more worried about the regime’s internal violence than its external threats. The deterrence that the clerical leadership has relied on for decades has evaporated.
In Washington, the “Peanuts Doctrine” has replaced “Strategic Patience.” The Iranian government is bracing for a strike that is designed to be so overwhelming that any “regrettable” response becomes impossible. This “overwhelming force” strategy is intended to show that the US is the only power capable of bringing stability back to the region, by removing the primary source of its instability: the clerical regime.
As the carrier group prepares for its regional exercises, the “regrettable” bluff is reaching its breaking point. The Iranian government is bracing for a strike that will leave them with no response and no future. The era of Iranian deterrence is over, and the era of Iranian accountability has begun.