Two nations stand at the edge of a familiar precipice, each holding warnings like weapons. Iran, claiming foreknowledge of American military plans, has promised retaliation without boundary, while President Trump has laid bare a stark menu of choices — economic ruin, military obliteration, or diplomacy — as if naming the options were itself a form of pressure. Against the burning backdrop of Yemen, where proxy war has long substituted for direct confrontation, the world watches to see whether this exchange of ultimatums is the prelude to conflict or the performance of resolve that forestalls i