Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps responded to Trump that they “are the ones who will determine the end of the war”, adding that “Tehran would not allow the export of “a single litre of oil” from the region if the US and Israeli attacks continued. The choice of Mojtaba Khamenei, who has just lost much of his family, as his father’s successor, underlines this recalcitrance. It looks rather as though Iran is set on victory, not unconditional surrender, which is in any case highly unlikely to follow a conventional aerial campaign. After more than two years of Israeli bombardment, Hamas has not surrendered unconditionally. Iran will surely not do so. That would take the use of nuclear weapons. Is Trump mad enough to consider that?