By James Durso, The Hill: “The recent attack was also executed by a minority group, in this case Kurds. The perpetrators, who fought for Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria, were quickly identified and the ringleader, Serias Sadeghi, was a known IS recruiter in Iranian Kurdistan. The IS claimed responsibility for the attack, but Iran’s government quickly blamed the U.S. and Saudi Arabia for the atrocity, so as to distract the people from the failings of the security apparatus and to signal the approved theme for demonstrations and reportage.”
Several administration officials said it took most of the day for the White House to work out the terse, curt wording of a statement that sought to show sympathy for the Iranian public even as it pointedly suggested that the behavior of Tehran’s clerical leaders made its people a target. – New York Times
A video shared by Hezbollah’s Al Manar TV Wednesday purportedly shows footage of an American drone being tracked by an Iranian drone over Syria. The footage shows what appears to be a Predator drone in the sights of what is claimed to be an Iranian drone over Tanf, Syria, the site of a border crossing into Iraq. – Military Times
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards ratcheted up the tensions with Saudi Arabia as it accused Tehran’s regional rival of involvement in Wednesday’s double terrorist attack in the capital, which left at least 13 people dead and wounded more than 50. – Financial Times
Analysis: The attacks in Tehran threatened to escalate the broader regional conflict between the two heavyweight powers, Iran and Saudi Arabia, at a time when the Western-allied gulf bloc is divided against itself. And Saudi Arabia, under the two-year-old reign of King Salman and his powerful son, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is demonstrating an unexpected willingness to plunge into risky multifront battles. – New York Times
Editorial: Having unleashed those murderous techniques on the world—and justified their use for years—Iran now finds itself a target of the same. That’s a tragedy for ordinary Iranians who, already victimized by their regime, are now at risk from its enemies. – Wall Street Journal (subscription required)
Will McCants writes: At a time when the Islamic State’s caliphate is crumbling and its morale flagging, the strike won’t reverse its ill-fortunes — Iran may decide to hasten the demise of the Islamic State in response. But it is a vital shot in the arm for the group as it transitions from a proto-state to an insurgency. – Foreign Policy
Tzvi Kahn writes: Rouhani’s tenure suggests that he remains a loyal foot soldier of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Tehran’s ultimate powerbroker. In this sense, Iran’s executions reflect its core revolutionary ideology, which seeks to enforce radical Islamic norms as a counter to the perceived secularism and rapaciousness of the West. – Foundation for Defense of Democracies