Who's Really The Boss In Iran?

Who’s The Boss? -- Washington Free Beacon

Expert: Iran’s military has trumped its religious apparatus

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei “has become a hostage” of an elite branch of Iran’s army that has quietly consolidated its economic and political power, a top analyst said Tuesday.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) appears to have supplanted Khamenei and other top clerics in a significant power shift that has left Iran a “military dictatorship,” according to Ali Alfoneh, who has spent years investigating the IRGC.

Khamenei “has become a hostage in the hands of his own praetorian guard,” Alfoneh said Tuesday during a discussion hosted by the American Enterprise Institute.

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My Comment: I disagree with this analysis. I just do not see the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps being in a position to dictate to the clergy on what to do .... and even if they tried, I doubt that the mullahs will give up power so easily. What we actually have is a co-existence .... both groups are dependent on the other to maintain their power and influence.

Iranian Revolutionary Guard General Assassinated In Syria

Iran's ambassador to Lebanon Ghazanfar Roknabadi (l.) accepts condolences for the death of Hessam Khoshnevis, Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander in charge of Tehran's reconstruction assistance in Lebanon, at the Iranian Embassy in Beirut February 14, 2013. Sharif Karim/REUTERS

Iranian Revolutionary Guard Commander Killed In Syria: Rebel Claim -- Christian Science Monitor/Reuters

Tehran strongly backs Assad regime but claims no military support, says Guard commander was civil engineer in Lebanon.

An Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander has been killed inside Syria by rebels battling Iran's close ally President Bashar al-Assad, Iranian officials and a rebel leader said on Thursday .

Syrian rebels have repeatedly accused Tehran of sending fighters to help Assad crush the 22-month-old uprising, a charge Iran has denied.

The Iranian embassy in Lebanon said the dead man, Hessam Khoshnevis, was in charge of Tehran's reconstruction assistance in Lebanon. It said he was killed by "armed terrorist groups," a label used by the Syrian government to describe Assad's foes, on the road to Lebanon as he returned from Damascus.

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More News On Iranian Revolutionary Guard Commander Killed In Syria

Iranian general reportedly assassinated while traveling from Syria -- L.A. Times
Iranian official killed leaving Syria: embassy -- Reuters
Iranian General Is Killed in Syria -- Wall Street Journal
A senior Iranian commander reportedly killed by Syrian rebels -- Haaretz
Lebanon: Hezbollah-owned TV station says senior Iranian official killed -- FOX News/AP
Iran Holds Funeral for Guards Commander Killed on Way to Beirut -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Assassinated Iranian official had dual identity, Lebanese sources say -- Haaretz
Iranian official killed in Lebanon buried in Tehran -- YNet News

Meet The Iranian General Who Will Be In Charge If War Breaks Out Against Iran

Gen. Qasem Soleimani is the commander of Iran’s Quds Force and reports directly to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. (File photo)

Iran’s Master of Iraq Chaos Still Vexes U.S. -- New York Times

WASHINGTON — When a senior Iraqi intelligence official traveled to Tehran in the summer of 2007 to meet with the Iranian leadership, he quickly figured out who was in charge of Iran’s policy toward its neighbor to the west.

It was not the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. It was Qassim Suleimani, the shadowy commander of Iran’s paramilitary Quds Force, who calmly explained that he was the “sole authority for Iranian actions in Iraq,” according to an account the Iraqi official later provided to American officials in Baghdad.

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Previous Post: Meet The U.S. General Who Will Be In Charge If Iran Decides To Start A War

My Comment: This is one very dangerous and lethal foe.

Iran's Quds Force To Focus On Neighboring States

Iran’s Supreme Guide Ali Khamenei fears a possible military strike against Tehran by Israel. (Reuters)

Iran’s Supreme Guide Orders Quds Force To Focus On Neighboring States: Source -- Al Arabiya

Iran’s Supreme Guide Ali Khamenei gave his instructions to the country’s Revolutionary Guard, and all its affiliated units, especially the Quds Force, to stop their activities worldwide, especially in Africa and Latin America, and to focus on the neighboring countries, Al Arabiya reported on Friday, citing a source at the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

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My Comment: Of course there are no details on what this "focus" entails.

Is Iran's Qassem Suleimani The World's Most Dangerous Terrorist?

Blood on his hands: Qassem Suleimani, head of the Quds Force of Iran's Revolutionary Guard

Europe’s A Soft Touch For The World’s Most Dangerous Terrorist -- The Telegraph

The EU must respond to the deadly threat posed by Iran and Hizbollah.

Now that Osama bin Laden is at the bottom of the ocean, a new man has emerged as the world’s most dangerous terrorist: Qassem Suleimani. Although unfamiliar to most in the West, he is responsible for killing many thousands in cold blood – and masterminding the murder of more Americans than any other person on earth.

Suleimani heads the Quds Force of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard – the nerve centre of its global terrorist network. Working with Hizbollah in Lebanon, he has plotted, attempted and executed mass murder in dozens of countries.

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My Comment: My experience with Europe is that it takes forever for them to change their policies. But more news reports like this one will probably help to change it.

Hezb'allah Cells Active Worldwide

Iranian Revolutionary Guards

Hezb'allah Cells Active Worldwide, Including in U.S. -- American Thinker

The terrorist group Hezb'allah, based in Lebanon, is establishing "resistance cells" worldwide under the direction of Iran, according to Mohammad Hussein Babai, the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards in the province of Golestan.

The cells are already infiltrating the United States with the help of Venezuela's Hugo Chávez and drug cartels.

The Iranian Student News Agency, which is close to the Guards, reported last week that Babai, during a press conference, revealed that these jihadist cells began forming after the 2006 Lebanon war between Israel and Hezb'allah, and with the current Islamic Awakening, they have expanded their operations.

Their mission, Babai said, is to help create an Islam-dominated world.

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My Comment: I expect this story to be completely absent in today's mainstream media.

Dissension In Iran's Revolutionary Guards?

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Pledges To Hold Fire -- The Telegraph

Senior officers in Iran's Revolutionary Guards have written a letter to their commanding officer demanding assurances that they will not be required to open fire on anti-government demonstrators.

Following the recent violence that occurred during anti-government protests in Egypt, the officers argue that it is against the principles of Shi'ite Islamic law to use violence against their own people.

In a suggestion of a major split within the Islamic Republic's ruling hierarchy over its handling of anti-government protests, the letter has been circulated widely throughout the ranks of the Revolutionary Guards, the body responsible for defending religious system.

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My Comment: I would like to believe that Iran's Revolutionary Guards are now finding a degree of compassion towards their fellow countrymen who may disagree with the existing ruling elite. But .... I doubt it.

Another Explosion Against The Revolitionary Guards In Iran

Blast At Iran Revolutionary Guards Base Kills 18 -- BBC

An explosion at a base belonging to Iran's Revolutionary Guards has killed 18 people and injured 14.

Reports are emerging of the blast at an ammunitions store on Tuesday in north-western Lorestan province.

The injured were taken to Khoramabad, 300 miles (500 km) southwest of Tehran.

An elite military force, the Revolutionary Guard was set up shortly after the 1979 Iranian revolution to defend the country's Islamic system.

It has since become a major military, political and economic force in Iran.

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More News On This Explosion In Iran

Iran puts Guard death toll at 18 in base blast -- AP
Blast kills 18 in military base in western Iran -- Xinhuanet
Members of Iran Revolutionary Guard killed in ammunition blast -- Washington Post

My Comment: The timing, location, and circumstances behind this explosion may it look very suspicious, even with the Iranian Government saying that it was an accident.