Iran Is Burning the Bridges It Needs to Survive

By attacking Gulf capitals and threatening the Strait of Hormuz, the Islamic Republic is wagering that chaos can substitute for strength. That bet may prove existentially costly.

After airstrikes by the United States and Israel killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei—the Islamic Republic’s so-called “Supreme Leader”—on day one of the war, the world expected a response.

Israelis braced for missile fire, and Americans braced for attacks on their bases across the Gulf.

What fewer people expected was Tehran lighting up the entire neighborhood: …