According to CoinMeta, Mona Yakoubian, the director of the Middle East project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, stated that the Trump administration chose to postpone action multiple times after making the most severe threats, leading Iran to believe that it was in the upper hand in the conflict with the United States. Yakoubian pointed out a pattern of repeated military escalations between the US and Iran, as well as announcements of diplomatic breakthroughs that were ultimately not realized. She added that the US may have postponed its latest strike after Gulf allies expressed their concerns, as these countries are worried about a further escalation of the situation, and Iran would not hesitate to attack infrastructure and energy targets in the region.