How Would Iran Respond to a U.S. Attack?
If the United States strikes Iran, how will Tehran respond? History suggests a calibrated mix of cyberattacks, drones, maritime pressure, and limited missile strikes designed to signal resolve while avoiding a wider regional war.
With the prospect of war in the Middle East again on the horizon, it is important to assess how Iran might respond to a U.S. attack. This installment of Critical Questions looks back to look ahead, using the history of how Iran has attacked the United States and its allies since 1980 as a baseline for predicting how Iran might retaliate and what it says about the potential for an escalation spiral that pulls the region, if not the world, into a broader war. Both the history of Iran’s attacks and core insights from international relations theory suggest near-term limits on a larger conflict.…
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