A Fateful Debate in Tehran

Dec 30, 2024

Also published in Jerusalem Strategic Tribune
Iran's president-elect Pezeshkian speaks in Tehran - source: Reuters
About the Authors
Ehud Yaari

Ehud Yaari is the Lafer International Fellow at The Washington Institute.

Articles & Testimony

After blows to Iranian proxies across the region, reformists led by President Pezeshkian are prioritizing diplomacy and economic recovery, whereas hardliners are lamenting lost battlefield opportunities and seeking to preserve the regime.

There are growing indications—not yet certainties—that the top echelons of the Iranian regime are locked in a fierce debate over a comprehensive reassessment of their regional policies. The Farsi media and public statements by politicians allow only a glimpse of the intensity of the controversy. Still, the ongoing heated discussions have already led the generals of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), usually quite fond of bombastic rhetoric, to take a step back and reduce public appearances. The issue at stake is whether Iran should invest billions more dollars to reconstruct the armed proxies established in recent decades by Qassem Suleimani, the late commander of the IRGC’s Qods Force. These funds are desperately needed at home where the local currency has sunk to a record low. 

Read the full article on the Jerusalem Strategic Tribune website. 

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