Has Iran just committed suicide?

Having lied about the fate of oil on a tanker (it was delivered to Syria, despite promises not to, that were made while the tanker was detained by the UK), which cost it some of the remaining international support (and most if not all credibility in any future negotiations) it had. Now there has been a major drone attack on a Saudi oil producing facility, claimed by Iranian-backed misogynistic rebels in Yemen. The problems for Iran include that the US is ignoring the "ian-backed misogynistic rebels in Yemen", and just hearing - or thinking - "Iran".

Will this lead to a full-scale war?

I don't think so (although POTUS45 prides himself on being unpredictable), but it is highly likely there will be some sort of military response - whether by the USA, Saudi Arabia, or both, and whether against Yemen, Iran, or both, remains to be seen. An attack into Iran is likely to escalate the tensions, so I would suspect a US-backed Saudi strike in Yemen, but there's really too much unpredictability on both sides.

Certainly the protective military capabilities will be increased in the region, and that sort of build up is always risky.

As to how the hawks became so influential inside Iran, well, that's the inevitable result, in my opinion, of the USA's approach to Iran over the last couple of years.

Now the problem is: how to calm everyone down?

Iran needs a way to save face and back down (I have no ideas on that), and the USA - well, apart from electing a new president next year (which would be an opportunity to shift to a more rational, less aggressive stance and re-implement some form of international agreement), in the short term, the best option for the USA is to commit some rational, objective, calm, mature military leadership to the region, and let them engage appropriately with the media to bring a sense of control and measured response to the world.

Make no mistake: if full-scale war breaks out, Iran will lose the war (it's just a case of how quickly and how bloodily), and many others will also suffer. If Russia gets involved, the war could spread.

As I wrote earlier, I don't think that's likely, but a replacement of anger and bravado with maturity and rationality would be good.

PS - there has been some excellent media commentary on this, including from the Caspian Report, and Shields and Brooks on the PBS NewsHour (the comment about Iran's disruptive influence is a good reminder, and ties in with the Caspian report).