Mistakes happen. Especially after you shoot Ballistic Missiles at a military base of the superpower. Those were very sensitive times.
Funny how you left out WHY Iran is in Syria. Why don't you criticize your fellow headchopping friends who were in Syria on CIA orders?
In Syria, the US and its allies were defeated by Iran and Russia hands down. They did manage to divide the country into three parts, but not to severe the Resistance Axis, which was their foremost goal. As for the notion that Iran is playing second fiddle to Russia there, that's not the case. Because as much as Russia's air force contributed to the victory, we know that an air force alone does not win wars and therefore, Iran's presence on the ground represents the other half of the equation which Moscow knows there's no credible alternative to.
In Iraq, even if the current administration may tend not to be as close to Iran as preceding ones, there are pro-Iranian officials and civil servants at different levels of practically every state institution. Iraq's PMU, the pro-Iranian paramilitary force, is more cohesive than the Iraqi army itself. Want to know what the Iraqi army would look like without active US support? Just look at the Afghan National Army's recent performance against the Taleban. Heck, look at how the Iraqi army fared against a rag tag "I"SIS militia in 2014, when the latter took over half of the country in a sudden blitz.
In Lebanon, Hezbollah along with its coalition partners form the most powerful political and military block.
In Yemen, the mere fact that it's been 7 years since the Saudis launched their intervention and yet Ansarallah and the Yemeni government they participate in are still alive and kicking, is not just a testimony to the Houthis' own extraordinary resilience but also to Iran's prowess, especially considering the distance which separates Iran from Yemen, as well as the fact that northern Yemen is geographically encircled by adversaries.
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Can Iran be a bad cop or like Luca brasi?
As its too naive to believe that Pak did something in Panjshir.
Iran's Ismael Shah was spared with Ahmed Masood and Saleh.
They opted fight. If Saleh/Massod were Iranian sympathiser, why didn't Iran stop them?
If Iran doesn't care, then why protest?
To placate domestic liberals who wield quite some influence on public opinion and have been harshly criticizing the new administration and the IRGC for their policy of normalization with the Taliban.