Iran flexes its muscles, and Pakistan pushes back

Iran's clerical regime has been stirring trouble in the Middle East for years, usually using armed proxies such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, Shiite militias in Iraq, and the Houthis in Yemen. Over the last few days, it launched direct strikes inside three ostensibly friendly countries — Syria, Iraq and Pakistan. The goal might have been to project Iran's power ahead of Iranian legislative elections, scheduled for March 1. But Pakistan's decision to strike back has left Iranian diplomats scrambling to point out that the Islamic Republic does not intend to make an enemy of its nuclear-armed Muslim neighbor. Iran —…