A lot of people seem to think Iran is irrational or wants martyrdom, but their policy is totally rational and quite effective. They are not as strong as Israel and have trouble gaining influence in the Middle East because they are Shiite and most Muslims in the region are Sunni. To overcome those issues, they have exploited political cleavages throughout the Levant and created proxies to exacerbate them. This has given them leverage where they would have none. It has also allowed Iran to fight Israel indirectly. That has given them tremendous gain at a low cost. Iran is punching WAY above its weight and now has a stake in the control of Iraq, Syria, Gaza, Yemen and Lebanon. It also is trying to gain a foothold in Jordan and the West Bank with some success. The Israeli gambit of taking the war directly to Iran has revealed the Achilles Heel in this strategy. Iran is not actually that strong militarily and has difficulty harming Israel directly. It also does not have the intelligence to deal with the Mossad, especially when the CIA supports it. That is why Iran is so nervous. Israel has called the bluff on what has been a VERY successful strategy that it has pursued for over 40 years now. The truth is the Iranian don't want to die. They aren't martyrs. They want to use other people to advance their agenda. Tehran is VERY reluctant to pay the price itself.
See Tweet