Revolutionary Guard

Iranian Revolutionary Guard/Quds Force could be planning attack in Turkey

by News Sources 01.17.2012

Today’s Zaman reports: Intelligence units have warned that the Quds Force, a special unit of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, plans to send a group to Turkey to carry out a series of demonstrations that may include a bomb attack on the Embassy or Consulate General of the United States. The Turkish Security General Directorate (EGM) has [...]

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Israel and Iran: Covert warfare raises risks of retaliation, and conflagration

by News Sources 11.15.2011

Tony Karon writes: If Iran’s leaders actually believe their official insistence that last weekend’s blast at the Bid Ganeh Revolutionary Guard Corps missile base was an accident, the event is unlikely to make any difference to regional stability. But if Iran, instead, believes claims — and widely held suspicions in Tehran — that the blast, [...]

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Israel behind deadly explosion at Iran missile base?

by News Sources 11.14.2011

Whether it was the result of an Israeli covert operation, or, as Iran claims, an accident, the latest deadly incident once again highlights the willingness of the United States and Israel to engage in acts of violence that were they instigated by Iran or any other state or non-state actor would simply be called acts [...]

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Iran postulates first nuclear test

by News Sources 06.15.2011

Jamsheed K. Choksy writes: Media outlets and blogs in Israel, England, and the U.S. have responded with considerable incredulity to claims by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of sanguine reactions if Iran tests an atom bomb. The IRGC’s scenario underscores an unfortunate reality, however. After years of hollow threats, politicians and generals in the [...]

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Iranian ‘feud’: Much ado about nothing?

by News Sources 05.15.2011

Sharmine Narwani writes: A public spat between Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the country’s president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made the international headlines last week. Politics is rarely ever a harmonious business in any country, so why the brouhaha over this particular stand-off? To be sure, the disagreement itself was an unusual occurrence. Khamenei’s very [...]

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Iranian general murdered in Israel’s Ayalon prison?

by News Sources 12.28.2010

Richard Silverstein writes: New and astonishing developments in the case of Prisoner X, known to a source within Ehud Barak’s inner circle as Ali Reza Asgari, retired Iran Revolutionary Guard general and former deputy defense minister. I exposed the name of Prisoner X here a few weeks ago. Today, brings news from Israel that Asgari [...]

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The other side of the militarization of Iran’s regime

by News Sources 12.22.2010

Elliot Hen-Tov and Nathan Gonzalez write: This week, Iran implemented an overhaul of its national subsidy system, in effect cutting billions of dollars worth of subsidies for daily consumer use, especially fuel and electricity. Though cushioned by transfer payments to low-income households, it is akin to a major austerity move. While the economic impact is [...]

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Iran’s Revolutionary Guards slam Ahmadinejad

by News Sources 11.03.2010

RFE/RL reports: In an unprecedented move, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has directly blasted President Mahmud Ahmadinejad over controversial comments he made recently, including saying that parliament is not on top of the country’s affairs. Ahmadinejad was also criticized for promoting an “Iranian school of thought” instead of an Islamic one. Ahmadinejad has in [...]

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Why Iran’s top spy isn’t meddling in Iraq — for now

by Paul Woodward 03.04.2010

Among the many intriguing pieces of information about Qassem Suleimani, the head of Iran’s Quds Force, in this profile by Christopher Dickey, is this: Suleimani along with many other senior figures in the Quds Force actually supported Mir Hossein Mousavi in last summer’s presidential election. The text message was cryptic and sent through an intermediary, [...]

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Is Obama’s national security adviser out of the loop?

by Paul Woodward 02.15.2010

It could simply be Gen James Jones’ unassuming manner, but President Obama’s national security adviser certainly sounds and looks disengaged. He’s like a retired executive who got called up to fill-in during a protracted search for a permanent replacement. A week ago, Peter Feaver noted that a Financial Times article on Obama’s core team of [...]

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Elite Revolutionary Guard’s expanding role in Iran may limit U.S. options

by Paul Woodward 01.10.2010

Elite Revolutionary Guard’s expanding role in Iran may limit U.S. options By Thomas Erdbrink, Washington Post, January 10, 2010 A major expansion in the role played by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps is giving the elite force new economic and political clout, but it could also complicate efforts by the United States and its allies to [...]

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US Jewish community leaders favor bonehead approach with Iran

by Paul Woodward 12.31.2009

US Jewish community leaders don’t want to “try to become too smart” dealing with Iran By Nathan Guttman, The Forward, December 30, 2009 As anti-government protests — and government repression — flare in Iran, Jewish groups remain focused on the issue of nuclear proliferation there, prioritizing this problem over concern for the country’s opposition movement. [...]

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Why we should still talk with Iran

by Paul Woodward 11.27.2009

Why we should still talk with Iran By Marziar Bahari, Washington Post, November 26, 2009 Since I was released from Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison last month, the questions have come again and again: Can we still talk to these people? Should the Obama administration engage in dialogue with Iran? What should the West do in [...]

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Iran says U.S., Britain behind attack

by Paul Woodward 10.19.2009

Iran says U.S., Britain behind attack By Michael Slackman, New York Times, October 19, 2009 Iranian officials claimed Monday that they had evidence of American and British involvement in the country’s worst suicide bombing attacks in years, raising tensions as Iran meets with Western nations for another round of delicate talks on its nuclear program. [...]

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Iran Guard commanders said to be killed in blast

by Paul Woodward 10.18.2009

Iran Guard commanders said to be killed in blast AP, October 18, 2009 A suicide bomber killed five senior commanders of the powerful Revolutionary Guard and at least 26 others Sunday near the Pakistani border in the heartland of a potentially escalating Sunni insurgency. The attack — which also left dozens wounded — was the [...]

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Iran ‘has secret nuclear arms plan’

by Paul Woodward 09.30.2009

Iran ‘has secret nuclear arms plan’ By James Blitz, Daniel Dombey and Najmeh Bozorgmehr, Financial Times, September 29, 2009 Britain’s intelligence services say that Iran has been secretly designing a nuclear warhead “since late 2004 or early 2005”, an assessment that suggests Tehran has embarked on the final steps towards acquiring nuclear weapons capability. As [...]

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How to press the advantage with Iran

by Paul Woodward 09.29.2009

How to press the advantage with Iran By Flynt and Hillary Mann Leverett, New York Times, September 29, 2009 Absent some agreement with Washington on its long-term goals, Iran’s national security strategy will continue emphasizing “asymmetric” defense against perceived American encirclement. Over several years, officials in both the reformist government of Mohammad Khatami and the [...]

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Thoughts on Iran, mountains and winning without war

by Paul Woodward 09.27.2009

On mountains and metaphors By Paul Woodward, War in Context, September 27, 2009 A few random thoughts and observations on the latest developments with Iran: How big’s a mountain? It’s a clandestine nuclear facility under construction “inside a mountain“. The only adjective that got left out was “deep,” yet knowing that detail might be the [...]

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Iran’s supreme leader warns opposition figures

by Paul Woodward 09.11.2009

Iran’s supreme leader warns opposition figures By Borzou Daragahi, Los Angeles Times, September 11, 2009 Iran’s top spiritual and political authority urged opposition leaders to act within the rules of the Islamic Republic or face harsh scrutiny, and said his nation would withstand international pressure over its nuclear program. Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also [...]

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How the US Congress plans on supporting the Iranian Revolutionary Guard

by Paul Woodward 09.02.2009

Buying American in Tehran By Jerry Guo, New York Times, September 2, 2009 American sanctions against this country are not only obviously ineffective, … they often have unintended consequences that hurt American interests. President George W. Bush’s 2005 sanctions on financial assets, meant to crack down on rogue banks facilitating Iran’s nuclear program, had two [...]

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Zen and the art of foreign relations

by Paul Woodward 08.10.2009

US showed support for Iran protestors: Clinton AFP, August 9, 2009 Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Sunday that the United States did a lot “behind the scenes” to show support for demonstrators contesting Iran’s disputed presidential election results. “We did not want to get between the legitimate protests and demonstrations of the Iranian people [...]

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Iranian officials call for arrest of opposition leaders

by Paul Woodward 08.10.2009

Iranian officials call for arrest of opposition leaders By Thomas Erdbrink, Washington Post, August 10, 2009 Revolutionary Guard generals, top politicians and senior clerics have called for the arrest and punishment of opposition leaders, including defeated presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi, Iranian state media reported Sunday, while the national police chief acknowledged that protesters had [...]

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NEWS & EDITOR’S COMMENT: Iran’s plausible denials

by Paul Woodward 05.06.2008

Doubting the evidence against Iran By Mark Kukis and Abigail Hauslohner, Time, May 5, 2008 American circles in Baghdad and Washington are probably not pleased with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s plan for a special panel to investigate allegations of Iranian interference in Iraq. Many U.S. officials are already convinced of the worst and, for [...]

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NEWS, ANALYSIS, INTERVIEW & EDITOR’S COMMENT: Foreign interference

by Paul Woodward 05.05.2008

Hezbollah trains Iraqis in Iran, Pentagon’s New York Times spokesman says By Michael R Gordon, New York Times, May 5, 2008 Militants from the Lebanese group Hezbollah have been training Iraqi militia fighters at a camp near Tehran, according to American interrogation reports that the United States has supplied to the Iraqi government. An American [...]

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