Pushing the Boundaries

By Will Fulton

Will Fulton is an Iran subject matter expert, Persian linguist, and senior analyst based in the United Arab Emirates. His work has centered on Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and its regional and global partners and proxies, as well as Iranian domestic policy issues.

Iran’s supreme leader implemented a dramatic overhaul of Iranian military leadership in June 2016, and in so doing, effectively consolidated control of the Iranian military into the hands of a small network of senior Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) commanders. This same network of IRGC commanders have been the driving force behind Iran’s recent provocations in the Strait of Hormuz, and they are likely to use their increased influence to further institutionalize this behavior in Iranian military doctrine.

Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei announced his first major military change on June 28, appointing IRGC Maj. Gen. Mohammed Bagheri to replace the ailing Maj. Gen. Hassan Firouzabadi as Chief of the Armed Forces General Staff (AFGS).

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