In Tehran, specter of war met with more defiance than fear

"I think at this stage Iran really doesn't want direct confrontation, neither with the US nor any other countries in the region," said Aniseh Bassiri Tabrizi, senior research fellow at RUSI. "There has been a response but not a provocation so far from Iran and there has been a commitment to clarify that, if needed, Iran would respond with all its tools at its disposal."