The Right Post

Let me take you through a thought experiment about what “the Iranian regime” actually is right now. Imagine a country like Iran, where familial and tribal loyalties run in parallel to the centralized authority. A place where patronage is built into the system. The US and Israel have decimated the leadership of both the Supreme Ruler and his clerics as well as the IRGC command. Factor in the mosaic strategy of spreading the IRGC out across all 31 provinces, plus constant attacks and degradation of Iranian infrastructure used by the IRGC: communication, roads, bases. In such a world the issue of succession becomes a problem, even if the regime thought they had prepared for it. New positions of authority are not being delegated from above, but rather are being assumed based on some hierarchy or org structure that may or may not still exist one month into the war. The IRGC leadership is not nearly as ideologically aligned as maybe the mullahs or the rank and file are. We are seeing reports of the relatives of high level IRGC living lavish lifestyles in the United States. We also know that the IRGC operates like a sort of organized crime syndicate within Iran, whereby they control large parts of the economy. Leadership is continuing to be killed on a near daily basis. It does not appear that the mullahs are even in charge anymore. The IRGC imposed the new supreme leader, even though all accounts say that he is badly injured and not conscious. There is probably some sort of coup whereby the IRGC has assumed power and decision-making without announcing it publicly. And there are reports of the president complaining that he has no real power and that the IRGC are pulling the strings. Now we get to the final point where it’s not even entirely clear who is negotiating on behalf of Iran. The actual situation within Iran in terms of their leadership is most likely something resembling this: authority is no longer flowing downward from Tehran. It is being claimed locally by surviving provincial commanders, rival IRGC factions, and patronage networks. Iran has become a loose confederation of armed power centers held together by shared hatred of the US and Israel, residual revolutionary ideology, and the IRGC’s economic mafia networks…but those same networks are also pulling in opposite directions. Logical conclusions from all this: ceasefires and diplomatic agreements become extremely fragile because the people signing them may not actually control the people with the missiles and drones (as we saw with the Kuwait strikes hours after the truce announcement). Further leadership killings will likely create even more autonomous warlords rather than weaken the resistance. Negotiating any lasting deal has become incredibly difficult because there is no longer one single lever of control. The regime is effectively fighting two wars at once…externally against the US and Israel, and internally against itself. That is likely what “the Iranian regime” actually is right now…and the US/Israel know this reality full well. They see and hear everything that’s happening. And what we, as the public, know is almost entirely controlled by what the US, Israel, and “Iranian regime” is telling us publicly. There is no independent reporting from inside Iran. The fog of war is nearly absolute and we are being told only a small part of what is actually going on. But if you look closely and deep enough, you’ll find enough crumbs to support (at least partially) the logical conclusions of this thought experiment. What would I be trying to do if I were Trump? Divide and Conquer is the name of the game. So take everything that you hear and see with a grain of salt…there’s lots of smoke and mirrors.