Iran's current war strategy rests on a specific lesson from the 12-day Israeli bombardment last June: it was Israel, not Iran, that asked the United States for a ceasefire, political scientist Vali Nasr has told Bloomberg. That single observation has reshaped Tehran's entire approach to the conflict.
Iran concluded that Israel was running out of interceptors by day 12 and could not sustain the tempo, "Hvylya" reports, citing Nasr's interview on the Mishal Husain Show. "In their opinion, it was Israel that asked the United States for a ceasefire," Nasr said. Iranian state media repeats this narrative constantly as proof that endurance, not firepower, decides wars.
The resulting doctrine is explicit: absorb punishment, stay on your feet, and keep going. "To fight the United States and Israel, you cannot match them in terms of firepower. This is an endurance run. You're going to get battered, but you just got to stay up on your feet and keep going," Nasr explained. Iran sees the conflict not as a munitions count but as a test of pain thresholds.
This framing explains why Iran has so far avoided escalating toward terrorism, despite having the capability. Nasr argued that 120-dollar oil and the economic shutdown of Gulf economies inflict far more damage on Washington than any act of terrorism, which would only hand the US a propaganda victory. Iran also enjoys significant international sympathy - particularly outside the West - for standing up to Trump, and a terrorist attack would destroy that asset instantly.
Nasr added that Iran had "calculated this from before" - that going up against two superior air forces would mean severe punishment. The bet was never on avoiding damage but on whether America and Israel would lose patience first. Every indication so far, from the choice of a wartime supreme leader to public rallying, tells Tehran it is winning that bet.
Also read: Why Iran's Weakened Regime Has Every Reason To Keep Fighting - and Washington Has None.