But a dozen BMs still injured 100+ American soldiers. Would it have been better if Iran fired more and or actually targeted and killed most of the US soldiers on the base ?
I think you have to consider Iran's goals in each situation on a case by case basis ? starting a hot war with the USA in the middle of an economic crisis would not have been wise or beneficial for Iran's people.
Instead Iran sought to deter the enemy, avoid major escalations, maintain the status quo. In most cases the rash choice is often times not the best course of action in retrospect especially when considering all the variables through a long term historical perspective
Look at the USA, a few years later and they were humiliated in Afghanistan infront of the entire world all because of their own self destructive policies.
Or if you recall was it the late 90's when Iran almost went to war with Afghanistan after Taliban killed some Iranian diplomats ?
Back then many in Iran wanted blood and realistically Iran could have easily hit them with airstrikes / missiles and there there isn't anything they could have done about it. Or perhaps that would have led to major escalation or terrorist attack in a large Iranian city which could have gotten tens of thousands of Iranian troops committed to the trap that is Afghanistan ?
Look a few years later and 911 happened and we know how that ended for the Taliban.
You see, sometimes when you're dealings with aggressive or belligerent nations they simply end up sabotaging or hurting themselves in the long run. All you have to do is sit down and watch as things play out.
If we're talking about Baku, well consider that Iran's economy has just started bouncing back recently and right now winter is fast approaching. Realistically if Isreaeli's were to launch anything from Baku territory I don't see why Iranian air defenses shouldn't be able to deal with it.
However if anything hits Iran then I believe that the recent military exercise were sufficient warning enough and Iran could then proceed to launch as many missiles as required to destroy the source of the launch this time inside Baku territory.
These recent military exercises were just a warning. Realistically Iran trades through and with Baku in any case and Iran probably benefits economically more trading through them than with Armenia.
In any case the new road from Iran to Armenia, Tatev road, should be done anytime soon, they only have a dozen or so KM of diversionary road and that's all that will be required.
In the near future Iran and Armenia have plans to jointly build another 500 km corridor connecting Iran to Armenia to further cement ties and trade. Armenians are also discussing fuel deals with Iran.
Well this sort of seals the deal doesn't it?
Such equipment would only be called up if the threat coming from Israeli controlled Azerbaijan was credible and that does seem to be the case.
Really, REALLY hoping Iran obliterates the bases Israel uses to stage its incursion into Iranian territory. It's about time Azerbaijan gets put in its place.