Iran Snap Analysis: After the Show of Ships and Missiles, Regime Declares, "We've Won!"

So what do you do after 10 days of showing off your ships and declaring that you have fired missiles, taken out simulated enemy submarines and taken down simulated enemy drones, and scared off a US aircraft carrier?

Do you step up the pressure, feeding the media jitters that you are going to close the Straits of Hormuz, choking off much of the world's oil supply?

No, because you were never going to do that in the first place. That would mean an actual confrontation and its likely costs, instead of the benefits of propaganda.

Instead, you declare victory.

The Iranian media is united in shouting this morning that the enemy has been vanquished just by the display of Tehran's strength. State news agency IRNA quotes Iran's army commander that the US is a "paper tiger". Fars headlines with leading MP Alaeddin Boroujerdi's declaration: Iran has demonstrated that the US "needs a guardian who keeps the area safe".

Press TV features Minister of Defense Ahmad Vahidi, "Maneuvers Displayed Iran Navy's Might". Then, in the most telling article --- because it pulls back the posture of escalation while pronouncing the final score of Iran 1, US 0 --- the website features Pentagon spokesman George Little, "No one in [the American] government seeks confrontation over the Strait of Hormuz. It is important to lower the temperature."

Stand down, everybody. The world will not be engulfed in US-Iran war this week. Or the next 

Of course, there are the small matters away from the Persian Gulf, such as the economic tensions within Iran. But that should not be mentioned here. Not when a regime is declaring victory.