Iran’s Leadership Signals It Is Still in Control and Able to Fight

After 10 days of punishing airstrikes by the U.S. and Israel, Iran’s leadership is battered but showing signs it is still in control and able to fight.

Senior Iranian political figures, while hunted from the air and limiting their appearances in public, are regularly posting messages that reflect recent developments and project unity and defiance. Iran’s military continues to hit high-value targets across a wide front encompassing Arab Gulf countries, Israel and beyond, though it is firing fewer missiles than in the first days of the war.

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Iran has fired an average of 45 missiles toward its Persian Gulf neighbors and Israel over the past three days, down from 420 on the second day of the war, according to data from the Washington-based Jewish Institute for National Security of America. The pace has stabilized, however, and Iran is also firing hundreds of drones at targets including oil facilities, airports and embassies.

The intensity and pattern of the Iranian strikes indicate a clear strategy and coordination behind the attacks, analysts and Arab officials said. Iranian forces have consistently targeted U.S. diplomatic and military sites, as well as energy and transportation infrastructure.

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