Peloni: The change in IRGC leadership makes little difference as only in Iran might a rogue such as Muhammad Baqr Ghalibaf be considered a moderate, as the IRGC would need to conduct some serious off-shore job hunting to find anyone who could truly qualify as a moderate to lead the regime forward. So, yes, the new lineup will be seen to be as radical and unyielding as all those before them. The various threats of ultimate doom for Iran which failed to be enforced over the past months by the US has only made the regime, broken and splintered as it is, all the more certain that their faith is being rewarded in the form of holding the US from making good on their promises. Additionally, the reports of America being out of bullets, as it were, will play an even greater point of validation of the radical Armegeddonist ideology which fuels the resolve of the IRGC, no matter who might be placed in charge of it. So attacks on tankers are continuing. So too are the calls for America to surrender, which should be understood to be sincere announcements of Iranian victory rather than as catcalls from an imploding regime. While the regime may ultimately implode, such a reality remains elusive, and the pronouncements of their sense of strength should be understood to be more real than imagined despite what has taken place. So as Trump is waiting to see the regime collapse as the weight of the US economic war on Iran strengthens, it would be wise for Trump to add to his economic war severe attacks on the power centers of the IRGC and it Basij associates. By doing so, further fragmenting the organization which continues its mocking US war efforts and ignoring the economic hurdles taking effect in Iran will come to see those effects having a greater and more meaningful impact, and Iran’s continued strikes on shipping gives Trump the basis on which to conduct such strikes.
Janatan Sayeh
The latest reshuffle of Iran’s government looks less like renewal than a game of musical chairs among regime veterans.
Islamic Republic Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, whose status and capacity to rule remain unclear, appointed officials to seven posts on August 9. They include the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), chief and deputy chief of the Armed Forces General Staff, commander and deputy commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), commander of the IRGC Navy, and commander of the Basij paramilitary force.
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