Iran is wagering it can outlast the United States and Israel--not militarily, but by grinding the war into a brutal contest of endurance. Its strategy is stark: Unleash drones and missiles, cut vital energy routes and jolt global markets hard enough to force Washington to blink first.

Despite the ‌shock of the U.S.–Israeli strikes and the loss of key figures, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) -- long the ultimate guardian of the Islamic Republic -- is firmly in control, directing the battlefield, executing pre-planned contingencies and dictating strategy and targets in the war.

The IRGC also played the decisive role in elevating Mojtaba Khamenei as supreme leader after Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the opening U.S.–Israeli strikes.

“For them, they are ‌waging an existential fight. This is an all-out war,” said Fawaz Gerges of the London School of Economics. “They believe their very ⁠survival is at stake. They're willing to bring the temple down on everyone’s heads.”Alex Vatanka, a senior fellow at the Middle East ⁠Institute and expert on Iranian politics, added: “They're like ⁠a bleeding animal-- wounded, but therefore more dangerous than ever."

That all-out war mindset is behind Iran’s escalating strikes across the Gulf, targeting energy hubs from Qatar to Saudi ‌Arabia to maximise economic disruption in a calculated attempt to drive up costs for its neighbours, Europe and the United States and test Washington’s political will.

U.S. President Donald Trump told........

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