Peak Oil News - Iran Is Giddy, but Worried

Casting the conflict in apocalyptic terms, however, hasn't helped resolve the nuclear issue—and won't bring peace to Lebanon either. The Iranian regime is absolutely giddy over how the battle for public opinion is playing out; in their minds everyone except the United States is finally acknowledging the truth they've been bruiting about for years, that the Israelis are nothing but "butchers." The crisis plays directly to the twin pillars of Tehran's psychology: a pulsating sense of victimization, underscored by round-the-clock satellite TV coverage of the carnage, and a presumption of regional leadership, as Ahmadinejad has cast himself as the last true defender of Muslims. Yet analysts with ties to the Iranian leadership say the regime is worried, too—fearful that Hizbullah could be thoroughly defeated on the battlefield, and that being too closely tied to the group's successes now could mean being dragged down by its defeat later.

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