The Iranian government isn’t guided solely by precedent. It knows that a head-to-head contest with Israel is a recipe for disaster.

Iran lost its most reliable ally in the Middle East when an Israeli airstrike killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. But Iran isn’t leading the charge to retaliate.

Experts think it is unlikely Iran will escalate the conflict and that it will instead focus on rebuilding Hezbollah and keeping its network of proxies in action for as long as possible.