India, June 24 -- Twelve days after Israel launched an attack on Iran's top military command and nuclear and ballistic missile sites, the two countries tentatively agreed to a US-backed ceasefire that may yet unravel. The US strike on Iran's three nuclear sites and US President Donald Trump's deliberate ambiguity around Washington's objectives vis-a-vis Iran - whether it wanted to end Iran's nuclear programme or force a regime change in Tehran - restricted Iran's choices. But by launching missiles into Israel, Iran signalled its readiness for a war of attrition while keeping open the option of a diplomatic off-ramp.

Iran's ruling elite now faces a reckoning over whether they should abandon their anti-American geopolitical project in favo...