Iranian media is doing its best to dismiss Israel’s attack as a trivial matter. But what happens next in the Middle East and whether the spiral of violence continues depends on the beleaguered men at the top of the two countries – and the hardliners behind them.
The Iranian state television program is not known for entertaining highlights. But it has rarely been as boring as it was on this Friday morning.
Tasnim News, a Revolutionary Guard station, had its reporter report live from a neatly planted, yawningly empty roundabout on the outskirts of Isfahan, the country’s third largest city. “Look: there’s nothing to see here. Everything’s under control. Nothing to worry about.” That was the unmistakable message from the Tehran regime to its citizens.