OPINION: Iran doubles down on terror but it holds a losing hand

OPINION: Iran doubles down on terror but it holds a losing hand

Opinion article by Rebecca Grant

You know the mullahs in Iran are gloating over anti-Israel protests, and harassment attacks by the Axis of Resistance. Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds force commander Esmail Ghaani has been shuttling to Lebanon and other locations, holding meetings, hoping to whip up more mayhem. 

And Iran would love to elbow the U.S. military out of the Middle East and fulfill its dreams of regional hegemony.

Don’t count on it. Iran holds a losing hand. 

Iran’s military options are limited, the economy is a shambles, and behind the scenes, a lot of governments in the region want to contain Iran. The aftermath of the Gaza crisis will leave Iran worse off than before. Here’s why. 

Iran has stuffed the region with enough missiles to overtax Israel’s Iron Dome missile defenses. 

As national security adviser Jake Sullivan said, Iran plays the "sustained, deep and dark role in providing all of this support and capabilities to Hamas." The IRGC arms, funds and trains militias in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, the West Bank and of course Gaza. 

Yet for all the time and money spent, Iran’s proxies can’t overmatch U.S. deterrent forces...