{"id":6286,"date":"2019-02-18T07:30:38","date_gmt":"2019-02-18T04:30:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rasanah-iiis.org\/english\/?p=6286"},"modified":"2019-02-24T00:48:50","modified_gmt":"2019-02-23T21:48:50","slug":"irans-armed-forces-project-stronger-defensive-and-offensive-postures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rasanah-iiis.org\/english\/monitoring-and-translation\/reports\/irans-armed-forces-project-stronger-defensive-and-offensive-postures\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran\u2019s Armed Forces Project Stronger Defensive and Offensive Postures"},"content":{"rendered":"

The recent changes in Iran\u2019s armed forces point to the strengthening of not just its traditional defensive posture but also of its offensive military strategy. The new strategy will allow Iran to support its regional proxies, and to prepare for potential warfare beyond its borders.<\/strong>
\nBy constitutional decree, Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei serves as the army\u2019s Commander-In-Chief. He appoints the highest ranking officers in the armed forces, and in the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). The frequent appointments made by Khamenei<\/a> aim to keep Iran\u2019s armed forces in a state of preparation to react swiftly to counter any domestic unrest in Iran or if regional tensions increase.
\nRegular reshuffling in Iran\u2019s armed forces indicate concerns over its growing regional military commitments. Iran fears that the Islamic State (IS) might reemerge in Iraq and Syria<\/a>, and threaten Iran\u2019s internal security. Iran\u2019s tensions with its Gulf Arab neighbors are also on the rise, as is the potential for a conflict to emerge between Iran and the US, in which US Arab allies and Israel could side against Iran.
\nTo meet these security concerns, Khamenei appointed a veteran of the Iran-Iraq War, Abdolrahim Mousavi, to head the army including its ground, naval and air forces. He is preceded by the long-serving head of the Armed Forces, Major General Ataollah Salehi, who was appointed to the position in 2005 until 2017. Mousavi<\/a> is considered a vocal figure and is known as somebody who challenges the US and Israel in his public speeches. He is also an advocate for advancing Iran\u2019s indigenous military industry,<\/a> including investment in a state of\u00a0the art missile systems<\/a> program.
\nEarlier in mid-2016, Major General Mohammad Bagheri was appointed as Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces. Brigadier General Ahmad Reza Purdastan was appointed as Second in Command<\/a> of the Army. The appointments aimed to improve and advance the operational capabilities of the armed forces.
\nThen in May 2018, Farzad Esmaili<\/a> was appointed as the Assistant Commander of Iran\u2019s Army. Esmaili, who was formerly the Commander of the Khatam al-Anbiya\u2019s Air Defense Base, is an advocate for Iran\u2019s operations in Syria that could threaten Israel<\/a> in the Golan Heights. He has also supported the ban on US and Saudi aircrafts crossing Iran\u2019s airspace, stating that the ban aims to ensure Iran\u2019s internal security.
\nWithin the ranks of the IRGC, Mohsen Kazemi was removed as Commander of the Mohammad Rasulullah Division days after IS attacked the Iranian Parliament and the shrine of Imam Khomeini, killing 17 people in 2017. The Second Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Yazdi, a former Deputy Commander of the IRGC<\/a> and a strong advocate of Iran\u2019s nuclear program, replaced Kazemi.
\nMeanwhile, Iran\u2019s military Intelligence Units continue to operate directly under the command of Khamenei. Hossein Taeb, a Shia cleric, is in charge of the intelligence units of the IRGC. He is known to be supportive of harsh policies towards Iran\u2019s internal opposition, and has held on to his post since 2009. The ultra-conservative cleric Hojatoleslam Ali Saidi who previously served in the Intelligence Units of the IRGC now heads the Supreme Leader\u2019s own Ideational-Political Office, a unit that allows for the Commander-in-Chief\u2019s direct supervision over military intelligence.
\nThe appointment of these figures along with Iran\u2019s tougher than usual offensive posturing, especially recently against IS in Iraq and in building up Iranian military installations in Syria, suggest that Iran\u2019s armed forces will retain an important role in ensuring state security at home and the success of its military operations abroad. This implies that the future of Iran\u2019s armed forces will remain tied to its constant ability to project power both domestically and across the region.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The recent changes in Iran\u2019s armed forces point to the strengthening of not just its traditional defensive posture but also of its offensive military strategy. The new strategy will allow Iran to support its regional proxies, and to prepare for potential warfare beyond its borders. By constitutional decree, Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei serves as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":6287,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rasanah-iiis.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6286","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rasanah-iiis.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rasanah-iiis.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rasanah-iiis.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rasanah-iiis.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6286"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/rasanah-iiis.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6286\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6310,"href":"https:\/\/rasanah-iiis.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6286\/revisions\/6310"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rasanah-iiis.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6287"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rasanah-iiis.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rasanah-iiis.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rasanah-iiis.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}