Is The Revolutionary Guard Running Iran?
The war has empowered the Revolutionary Guards and seems to be shifting the theocratic republic toward something more like a military regime.
On Tuesday, as Vice President JD Vance prepared to fly to Islamabad, Pakistan, for a second round of peace talks, the Iranians pulled out.
The decision was made by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. They argued that President Trump’s blockade made talks futile. Iran’s president and foreign minister both disagreed. But the views of the Guards prevailed — as they tend to do in Iran these days.
When Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ruled Iran as the supreme leader, he exerted absolute control over all decisions about war, peace and negotiations with the U.S. But new reporting shows that his son and successor does not play the same role.
Mojtaba Khamenei still struggles to speak after suffering grave injuries in the strikes that killed his father. He has not been seen or heard from publicly since he was appointed in March. Instead it’s the commanders of the Revolutionary Guards who effectively run the country.
The Guards have long wielded power in Iran’s military, political and economic affairs. But under the elder Khamenei, they still reported to a religious figure who was also serving as the commander in chief of the armed forces.
Khamenei’s death in U.S.-Israeli strikes on the first day of the war created a vacuum and an opportunity. The Guards rallied behind Mojtaba, a longtime ally who fought in a Guards brigade in the Iraq-Iran war, and played an instrumental role in elevating him to the position of supreme leader.
They’ve been calling the shots ever since.
The Islamic republic is moving into a new era. It’s no longer a regime run by clerics. These are the early stages of a military regime.
The impact of Iran’s evolving leadership will be felt most by the Iranian people.
The social strictures formerly enforced by Iran’s religious leaders have already been dialed back. The demand that women cover their hair is barely enforced even now.
At the same time, the regime is continuing to execute protesters and has set up military checkpoints across the country. It is possible that the IRG will be less strict about social issues but more repressive politically.
The country is still at war. These significant changes have unfolded over the course of less than two months. Nobody knows what kind of Iran will emerge when the war is over.
Today In History April 24
Vladimir Komarov Killed in Space — April 24, 1967
On April 24, 1967, Soviet cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov became the first human being known to have died in space. He was 40 years old.
Komarov was piloting Soyuz I on a solo mission when his spacecraft’s parachute failed to deploy during reentry. The craft slammed into the Earth at terminal velocity. His body was found in the wreckage, still gripping the controls.
But the story runs deeper. Komarov knew the spacecraft was unsafe. He had begged to be removed from the flight — he even called a friend and said he wouldn’t come back. But the Soviets couldn’t afford to delay the mission or admit failure. The authorities needed a success before Americans reached the Moon. So they sent a man who knew he was going to die.
He was a hero not because he wanted to go, but because he went anyway — for his country, for his fellow cosmonauts who would fly safer missions after him, for the program that needed him. His death forced the Soviet space program to reckon with its recklessness and ultimately made spaceflight safer for everyone who followed.
The cosmonaut who recovered his body from the crash site was later asked what Komarov’s last words were. He said: “Heat’s increasing. Get the results. Tell my people I didn’t make it.”
