In the Middle East, losers are despised while those who successfully defy Israel and America are admired.
And, to be fair, this tendency is found not only in the Middle East: It is easier for winning generals to find recruits than it is for losing generals.
Or as Osama has put it: “When people see a strong horse and a weak horse, by nature they will like the strong horse.”
An important aspect of what is going on here is that the Iranian mullahs are attempting to demonstrate that they deserve to lead the international jihadi movement (despite the fact that they are Persian and Shia).