Yesterday’s scare of the airplane forced down as well as increased Iranian small boat brinkmanship remind me of a tendency among diplomats and some academics to dismiss any aggressive Iranian behavior as the result of rogue units within the Iranian power structure so as not to disrupt hopes for diplomatic progress.

A small article just came out analyzing so-called rogue actions in the Islamic Republic, and the rewards which the Tehran leadership heaps upon the rogue units when the Western press moves its attention elsewhere. Here.