Do Iran's Hardliners WANT Israel to Attack?

 

There was a fascinating piece in the Daily Beast a few days ago arguing that Iranian hardliners actually want Israel to attack and are trying to bait it into doing so.  The article quotes Karim Sadjadpour, an Iran expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace:

“I do think that a military conflagration could be one of the few things that could potentially rehabilitate the regime,” said Sadjadpour. “It could resuscitate revolutionary ideology and repair the deep fractures both among the political elite and among the population and the regime.” 

 It is difficult to say if Mr. Sadjadpour's theory is correct or not, and even if it is, the strategy likely exists only among the most hard core elements of the regime.  Interestingly enough, there has even been some speculation that Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khameni may even be "flirting" with the American "Great Satan".  Iran's attitude should become more apparent when it meets in Istanbul next week with the P5+1 group (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany).