Iran flummoxed

Fissures have opened within the Iranian government over how to respond to Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's killing, with conservatives arguing for a forceful response and the moderates, led by Iran's new president, Masoud Pezeshkian, calling for restraint.

All of this has left Iran, and its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a vulnerable position. Four Iranian officials who knew Nasrallah personally said that Khamenei had been deeply shaken by his friend's death and was in mourning, but had assumed a calm and pragmatic posture. The officials, including two members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, requested anonymity as they were not authorized to speak publicly.

Khamenei struck much the same tone in public. Instead of lashing out at Israel, he issued two restrained statements, praising Nasrallah as a leading figure in the Muslim world and the so-called axis of resistance, and saying that Iran would stand by Hezbollah.