|
Trending Topics
|
Source: https://www.persuasion.community/p/why-iran-continues-to-choose-war
Why Iran Continues to Choose War over Peace
(Persuasion) Kasra Aarabi and Saeid Golkar - The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) does not view war and peace the same way a normal state institution does. It was created to defend the Islamic Revolution and the regime's ideological identity. Its mission has always been larger than Iran's territorial security: it includes exporting the 1979 Islamic revolution, eradicating the State of Israel, confronting the U.S., protecting the regime from internal enemies, and reshaping the regional order. This is why the IRGC may prefer a contained war, or at least a continued limited confrontation, to a deal based on major concessions. For the Guard, compromise is an ideological danger. Shaped for decades by thorough indoctrination, selective recruitment, and internal surveillance, IRGC members are trained to see the world through the lens of resistance, martyrdom, anti-Americanism, antisemitism, and blind loyalty to the Supreme Leader. Since the conflict began, the U.S. and Israel have eliminated more than 100 high-ranking IRGC commanders as well as Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Accepting a deal with Trump could be framed as a betrayal of the martyrs, both inside the organization and among the 10% of Iranians who are radical Islamists. This means that as long as the IRGC exists, a permanent solution to the Strait of Hormuz crisis - and long-lasting peace in the Middle East - remain unattainable. Therefore, any strategy pursued by America and its allies should focus on continuing to undermine the IRGC. Regime change in Iran remains possible, but only if the IRGC is significantly weakened. Kasra Aarabi is the Director of Research on Iran's IRGC at United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI). Saeid Golkar is an associate professor of political science at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga and a senior advisor at UANI.