By Trita Parsi|ZeteoPhotos: YouTube Screenshots|Wikimedia CommonsThe Iranian strike on U.S. bases in Jordan during Volodymyr Zelensky’s and Benjamin Netanyahu’s visits to Washington caught American decision-makers off guard. Iran wanted Washington to understand that it no longer assumes the first strike must come from the United States. Consequently, the immediate target was not simply American military infrastructure: It was the strategic assumptions underpinning current U.S. policy. Attempting to prevent American escalation by attacking American forces risks producing precisely the escalation Iran says it seeks to avoid. For that reason, Iranian officials appeared to fully expect an American military response to the strike in Jordan.