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Source: https://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Iran-lacks-good-options-analysis-613091
Iranians Violated Undeclared Ground Rules with U.S.
(Jerusalem Post) Jonathan Spyer - The U.S. killing of Soleimani occurred after the Iranians departed from a tacit ground rule they had hitherto maintained. As noted by a number of analysts, the Iranian regime was apparently permitted by Washington to strike at U.S. allies with impunity, and could even hit at U.S. hardware, but it would be best advised not to harm U.S. citizens. Iran failed to abide by this rule and set in motion the series of events culminating in the death of Soleimani. Iran is physically capable of a response against U.S. forces and allied targets. But if Iran chooses to kill one or a number of U.S. citizens, then the evidence of recent days suggests that the U.S. may well be willing to escalate to a level of confrontation at which the Iranians cannot compete. The writer is director of the Middle East Center for Reporting and Analysis.