Iran’s message was clear with its missile strikes on US bases in Iraq. This would be their only response, and that they would now wait and see what the US would do. US President Trump made the final decision that the US response would be sanctions, signalling to advisers that the threat of escalation was off the table.

Pope Francis urges the United States and Iran to avoid escalation and pursue “dialogue and self-restraint” to avert a wider conflict in the Middle East.

Iran has developed “asymmetrical” responses - ballistic missiles, deadly drones and a web of militia allies in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen, among other things - with the aim of being able to inflict pain while avoiding the traditional battlefield.