Iran does not want a wider war the regime knows it can’t win

Bomb attacks in Iran and the killing of a Hamas leader in Lebanon have fulled fears of Iran escalating conflict in the Middle East. But the regime knows that going up against the military might of the US would cost them dear, writes Camelia Entekhabifard

People visit the scene of the bombing in the city of Kerman (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

The two bomb blasts that shook the Iranian city of Kerman this week led to almost 100 deaths and more than 200 injured. The attack – on the fourth anniversary of the killing of Qassem Soleimani – came just one day after Saleh al-Arouri, a Hamas leader, was killed in Lebanon.

Some immediately saw the two events as linked to each other. Both Iranian President Ebrahim Rayisi and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country’s Supreme Leader, condemned the Kerman attacks and immediately accused US and Israel.

This was done before the nature of the explosions and the methods used in them were clear and before investigations had been completed. Subsequently, Isis claimed responsibility.