Iran insists it has upper hand despite bombings and existential threat to regime

By Timothy Nerozzi

Published June 18, 2025 4:33pm ET

Iranian leaders want the world to believe they are willing and capable of unleashing historic levels of violence in response to ongoing Israeli airstrikes, but their actions are not living up to their rhetoric.

Perhaps the most obvious lack of follow-through occurred Tuesday, when Iranian state media warned that, overnight, “a great surprise will occur, one that the world will remember for centuries.”