Fears of 'What's Next?' Will Influence Iran's—and the World's—Reactions

As the Iranians decide how to respond, Supreme Leader Khamenei understands the real danger of a direct shooting war with America, and he will seek to avoid it. His challenge will be doing enough to show that Iran is exacting a serious price for Soleimani’s killing without triggering a more direct war with the U.S. military on Iran itself. We should expect a wide spectrum of actions that could be spaced over the coming months, including: renewed pressure for all U.S. forces to leave Iraq; terror attacks on soft American targets, symbols or officials in the Middle East and internationally; and proxy use of drones, cruise missiles or rockets to hit oil facilities in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait. There will also be a desire to wreak revenge on President Trump...

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