The general is dead. The missiles have flown. What next?
When faced with foreign threats, the Islamic Republic has long been calculating and strategic. But before Tuesday night, the Islamic Republic's de facto move had been to operate with a degree of plausible deniability, choosing militant proxies in places such as Iraq to disrupt U.S. interests while advancing its flair for regional mischief.
Its decision to launch 15 ballistic missiles at two military bases used by U.S. forces in Iraq, however, signaled a shift in strategy - if only temporary - to confront the U.S. directly. The attacks were designed to appease an angry Iranian population by launching swift retaliation for the American strike that killed Gen. Qassem Soleimani. But the gambit was calibrated so as not to further draw the ire of President Donald Trump, who along with Iranian leaders appeared to ease tensions on Wednesday.
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