Define cowardly. Does it mean 'striking the head of a terrorist organization in the capital of the terrorist state that sponsors it'? Or could it possibly mean 'raping and slaughtering hundreds of civilians and butchering babies who couldn't fight back against the psychopaths that the terrorist organization controls'?

We should really define terms, you know. 

Anyway, Iran issued a Mom He Hit Me Back! response to the humiliating assassination of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in their capital, where the IRGC apparently failed yet again:

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps also confirmed the death of Haniyeh, hours after he attended a swearing-in ceremony for the country’s new president Masoud Pezeshkian, and said it was investigating.

In a statement carried by Iranian media, Pezeshkian said Iran would “defend its territorial integrity, dignity, honor, and pride, and will make the terrorist occupiers regret their cowardly act.”

So say the cowards who thought they could keep their skirts clean in Tehran from the blood they spill throughout the region. They need to talk tough now, especially for domestic consumption, because the Israelis just exposed the IRGC as incompetent at external security again. The IDF easily penetrated their defenses a few months ago in a strike on an anti-aircraft system near their nuclear-research facility in Isfahan. As the Times of Israel also adds, the Mossad has succeeded in assassinating several officials and experts tied to that nuclear program over the years, but it's not clear to what extent the Iranian people themselves are aware of Israel's success in that campaign.

There's no hiding Haniyeh's death, however. He had just arrived to congratulate the new president of Iran and attend the inauguration. The regime played up his visit, as well as those by other leaders of their terrorist armies, as evidence of their mastery of the region. Israel's assassination punctures that illusion, and more dangerously, exposes the IRGC as perhaps nothing more than well-funded thugs rather than geniuses of totalitarianism. And that could have serious repercussions for an unpopular regime with an already restive population.

Unfortunately, that may make it more likely that Iran will retaliate directly and escalate the war in the region. They tried it once already in a large-scale missile attack that the US, Israel, Jordan, and the UK entirely thwarted, which is what led to the strike on Isfahan. The Iranians quieted down after that demonstration of superior Israeli skill, and perhaps that may still be enough for Tehran to farm out the retaliation to one of its proxies.

Because the message in Tehran yesterday was clear to the Ayatollah Khomenei: You could be next. And as much as these terrorist leaders like to talk about the joys of martyrdom, they seem very reluctant to volunteer.

Case in point: one Ismail Haniyeh, the multi-billionaire who celebrated martyrdom in Gaza from his Doha mansion's green-screen in October. 

Children die in all wars. Hamas deliberately seeks to maximise civilian death. Even so, civilian casualty rate is extremely low in this conflict.

Here’s Haniyeh explaining in October why he wants lots of Gazan women and children to die. pic.twitter.com/x5Kkfc2HaR

— Banjo Piano (@banjo_piano) June 5, 2024

Well, congratulations, Mr, Haniyeh. You've finally been volunteered for a duty you spent every effort to avoid for the last few decades. Consider that in the context of cowardly, too. 

A response will be forthcoming, however, and perhaps from multiple directions. Hezbollah will want revenge for the death of its #2 in Beirut, too. Netanyahu is meeting with the war cabinet to plan a strategy for defense over the coming days, and at least the US is sending the right signals in all directions. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned everyone that the US would join Israel in its defense against any attempts to widen the conflict.

Asked what assistance the United States would provide if a wider conflict should break out in the Middle East, Austin says Washington would continue to help defend Israel if it were attacked, but the priority was de-escalating tensions.

“We certainly will help defend Israel. You saw us do that April. You can expect to see us do that again,” he said.

“We don’t want to see any of that happen. We’re going to work hard to make sure that we’re doing things to help take the temperature down and address issues through diplomatic gatherings.”

That's a good start. Let's see if Quasi-President Kamala Harris sticks to it.