Khamenei’s words, though influential and commanding, are only one strand of Iran’s fractured postwar politics. In Tehran, rival factions have rushed forward with statements and proposals for how the country should respond to the devastation : thousands of casualties, shattered defenses, and a nuclear program badly damaged but not destroyed.

When Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, spoke at an event in late August, he dismissed calls for direct talks with Washington as “superficial” and declared the conflict with the United States “unsolvable.” America’s real aim, he said, was to make Iran “obedient”—an insult Iranians would resist “with all their strength.”

When Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, spoke at an event in late August, he dismissed calls for direct talks with Washington as “superficial” and declared the conflict with the United States “unsolvable.” America’s real aim, he said, was to make Iran “obedient”—an insult Iranians would resist “with all their strength.”

Khamenei’s words, though influential and commanding, are only one strand of Iran’s fractured postwar politics. In Tehran, rival factions have rushed forward with statements and proposals for how the country should respond to the devastation: thousands of casualties, shattered defenses, and a nuclear program badly damaged but not destroyed.

Beneath the clamor lies a deeper question: What real choice has Washington offered Iran beyond pressure and hostility?