​Tensions between Iran and the United States have reached unprecedented heights, especially after the Trump administration unilaterally withdrew from the 2015 nuclear accord. These tensions culminated in the assassination of General Qassem Suleimani by the US in January 2020 and subsequent Iranian rocket attacks on American troops in Iraq. The risks of war between the two sides are considerable, but despite the occasional provocation, neither side is likely to initiate open hostilities. Such an attack would inflict even greater harm to the initiator’s interests. For the foreseeable future, the conflict between the two sides will remain both volatile and under-control, regulated by the imperative of interest-preservation. Barring the eruption of an accidental war, the policy line advocated by the Iranian Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, will likely prevail: “no peace, no war.”