Iran’s rebels have lost their nerve Foreign meddling has spooked the opposition

In his fortified bunker, wherever that may be, in front of an institutional beige curtain, the old man with a black turban, diaphanous gown and a pink, rather sweet face did not hide his disappointment with Donald Trump. In a televised address to the Iranian people on Wednesday, the purpose of which was partly to demonstrate that he is still alive, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in his quiet, unemphatic way, “the American president threatened us and in an abrasive and unacceptable statement told the Iranian people to surrender”. This, he went on, is “illogical” — and the Supreme Leader knows all about this, having mastered syllogism as a young seminarian — because “the Iranians are not the kind of people who surrender”.