Critics feared it would plunge the Middle East into a wider war. That doomsday scenario has not come to pass, at least for now: Iran made only symbolic retaliation against America; soon after, a ceasefire ended the fighting between Iran and Israel.

The assumption that bombing Iran's strategic infrastructure would immediately trigger a popular revolt shows a fundamental misunderstanding of how people behave under siege. Some revolutions simmer and bubble under the surface,

The United States imposed sanctions on Thursday against a business network that smuggles Iranian oil disguised as Iraqi oil, as well as sanctions targeting a Hezbollah-controlled financial institution,

The Treasury Department is targeting Iranian networks that allegedly buy and transport billions of dollars worth of Iranian oil in violation of international sanctions.