“I may be in the minority here, but I think with this new development, despite Iran’s outlandish statements, ultimately Iran has been pushed into a corner,” she added. A senior commander in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps raised the prospect of possible attacks on ships in the Gulf, saying that Iran would retaliate against Americans wherever they were within reach of the Islamic Republic. Since the killing of General Suleimani and Mr. al-Muhandis, neither side has made another move — although both have made threats. At the joint funerals, as close to a state ceremony in Iraq as any since the fall of Saddam Hussein, a key pillar of Iran’s regional reach was on display in Baghdad. Many of the mourners were members of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces, militias that came together to fight the Islamic State and are now overseen by the Iraqi military.

Source: New York Times January 04, 2020 12:02 UTC