Iran's 9/11

For the ayatollah regime in Iran, the twin terrorist attacks that struck Tehran Wednesday were no less severe than the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks were to the Americans. Here, too, the perpetrators' goal was to deal a painful blow to the symbols of power. The Iranian parliament, known as the Majlis, is a symbol of tyrannical legislation, and the Mausoleum of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini symbolizes the honor and prestige of the regime's founders.

This was a humiliating and painful attack. The targets and the manner of the attacks were carefully calculated. The attackers waged a fierce battle for several hours and even took several Revolutionary Guard members hostage.

Iran's Intelligence Ministry reported that a third terrorist cell had been captured before carrying out a planned attack. It is hard to verify this claim – it may have been made to offset the Iranian authorities' shameful display of incompetence in the face of the attacks, which caught them completely off guard.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attacks and even posted footage of the attack inside the parliament building. Nevertheless, the Revolutionary Guards issued a lengthy statement accusing Saudi Arabia of the deadly attacks and promising to exact bitter revenge.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has often justified Iran's military involvement in Syria and Iraq by warning that if Iran fails to defeat ISIS while it is still far from its borders, it will soon have to confront it within Iranian cities. That day has arrived -- ISIS entered the Iranian capital and successfully carried out two simultaneous attacks that caused heavy casualties.

In recent years, Revolutionary Guard commanders have repeatedly claimed that they could destroy Tel Aviv within 11 minutes, likely referring to the 100,000 rockets and missiles in Hezbollah's arsenal. In their latest missile test launch, they inscribed in Hebrew on their missiles that Israel must be wiped out. Khamenei proudly declared that Israel would cease to exist in the next 25 years. In the religious city of Mashhad, in northeastern Iran, a large electronic timer counts down the days and hours to Israel's annihilation. But Wednesday's terrorist attacks served to expose the regime's own vulnerability.

There are many reasons for the Revolutionary Guards to cast blame on Saudi Arabia. Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who serves as the Saudi defense minister, warned Iran: "We won't wait for the battle to be in Saudi Arabia. Instead, we'll work so that the battle is for them in Iran." In response to this threat, former Revolutionary Guards head Mohsen Rezai said Iran could destroy all Saudi cities with the exception of Islam's holiest cities, Mecca and Medina.

Iranian-backed Houthi militants in Yemen often threaten to fire missiles at Saudi capital, Riyadh, and have demonstrated their military abilities by launching missiles at military and civilian targets on Saudi soil. However, it is highly doubtful that Iran will have the operational capability to carry out attacks like the ones sustained in Tehran in large Saudi cities. In the past, Iran did succeed in executing devastating attacks on American military bases in Saudi Arabia, but it appears that these days the ayatollah regime would have trouble reprising this success.

The attacks in Tehran have severely exacerbated the tension between Iran and the oil-rich Gulf states, chiefly Saudi Arabia. But they could also be viewed as a sign of optimism for dissenters within Iran hoping to topple the current regime.

Menashe Amir is an expert in Iranian affairs.