Originally Posted by
OldnGrounded
Of course. The leadership is already benefiting because this situation has diverted the masses from recent protests against the government. Soleimani, however, was a close associate of the "Supreme Leader," so it's pretty unlikely that the Iranians would have chosen this move if they were seeking a false flag option.
One 'Middle East Specialist' on the radio yesterday was speculating that Soleimani's operations outside Iran (Hezbollah in Syria etc) were too expensive for the Tehran Govt to fund in the ongoing sanctions environment