Iran's Revolutionary Guards take wartime lead, ensuring harder line, sources say

DUBAI, March 4 - Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have tightened their grip on wartime decision‑making despite the loss of top commanders, senior sources say, driving a hardline strategy that is propelling Tehran's drone‑and‑missile campaign across the region. Read more at straitstimes.com.

DUBAI, March 4 - Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have tightened their grip on wartime decision‑making despite the loss of top commanders, senior sources say, driving a hardline strategy that is propelling Tehran's drone‑and‑missile campaign across the region.

Anticipating the decapitation of their leadership, the Guards had already delegated far down the ranks before Saturday's U.S.-Israeli attack, a resilience-building strategy that could also risk miscalculation or a wider war with mid-ranking officers empowered to attack neighbouring states. On Wednesday, Iran fired on Turkey, a NATO nation.

Inside Iran, the Guards' central role at all levels of the system and draconian approach to security may also make it harder for protests to erupt, undermining any U.S. or Israeli hopes their attack will spur an uprising and regime change.

The choice of the next supreme leader, after Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's death on Saturday, could further cement their role, said Kasra Aarabi, head of research on the Guards at United Against Nuclear Iran, a U.S.-based policy organisation.

Khamenei's son Mojtaba, widely seen as a likely candidate, has very close ties with the Guards, exercising significant control over them and enjoying extensive support, including from more radical junior ranks.

"If the conflict suddenly stops and the regime survives, we can be certain the Guards will have an even more important role," said Aarabi.