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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Iran's Guards using Trump victory to claw back power |
| 2016-11-22 |
| [AlAhram] Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States... 's victory and the war on Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not reallyMoslems.... have given Iran's hard-line Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps what it sees as a unique opportunity to claw back economic and political power it had lost. Sidelined after a nuclear deal was reached with Iranian leaders and the administration of President Barack Obama I am the change that you seek... and major nations, the IRGC is determined to regain its position in Shi'ite Iran's complex governing structure. Republican Trump said in the campaign that he would abandon the 2015 deal that curbed Iran's nuclear ambitions in return for the lifting of economic sanctions. His tough stance, in contrast to Obama's olive branch, is expected to empower hard-liners who would benefit from an economy that excludes foreign competition. In addition, the Quds force, that conducts IRGC policies overseas, has played a successful and key role on the battlefields of Iraq increasing the Guards' kudos at home. "Trump and the Islamic State forces of Evil were gifts from God to the IRGC," said a bigwig within the Iranian government, speaking to Rooters on condition of anonymity like other figures contacted within Iran. "If Trump adopts a hostile policy towards Iran or scraps the deal, hard-liners and particularly the IRGC will benefit from it," a former reformist official said. Elected in a landslide in 2013 on a promise to end Iran's diplomatic and economic isolation, pragmatist President Hassan Rouhani has struggled to reconnect Iran's economy to world markets and to attract foreign investment. Uncertainty over the nuclear deal, unilateral U.S. sanctions, political infighting in Iran alongside complex regulations, labour issues and corruption have hampered a post-sanctions economic revival causing concern to Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who blames the government. Sanctions Benefitted IRGC Deeply loyal to Khamenei, the IRGC was created by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, leader of the 1979 Islamic revolution. The IRGC first secured a foothold in the economy after the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq War when the holy manal establishment allowed them to invest in leading Iranian industries. Involved in a wide range of businesses, from energy and tourism to car production, telecoms and construction, the IRGC's empire grew by taking billions of dollars in projects vacated by Western oil companies because of sanctions imposed to curb the nation's nuclear ambitions. Trying to limit IRGC influence, Rouhani's government stalled or cancelled some major projects with the IRGC, including a $1.3 billion deal with National Iranian Gas Co. in March 2014. Under the nuclear deal, international sanctions were lifted in January opening up the Iranian economy, thereby threatening the IRGC power base. Now the Guards see an opportunity to lever back their position in the Iranian hierarchy. "The IRGC will use Trump's win to convince the holy manal rulers to give them more political and economic backing. This is what they have been hoping for since the deal was reached," said the senior government official, who declined to be identified. "If Trump's presidency scares away foreign investors from Iran, then it is the IRGC that will regain its economic power," said a former reformist official close to Rouhani. "More economic involvement of the IRGC means a riskier market for foreign investors. It will hinder Rouhani's planned economic growth and will give more political power to the IRGC and their hard-line backers," the reformist official added. |
| Posted by:trailing wife |
| #5 [The Iran Deal] Obama's olive branch Obama's olive branch, also known as the Obama-Kerry-Clinton Folly (similar to when Neville Chamberlain got rolled by the Nazi). Maybe Trump can figure out a way to get all our boodle (Jizya) back to the U.S. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2016-11-22 09:30 |
| #4 Cause using Trump as a bogeyman worked so well for the Donks. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2016-11-22 06:37 |
| #3 Because blaming IRGC pushback on Trump (or rather people who voted for him) is a bit strange for western mass media - too un-parochial. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2016-11-22 06:12 |
| #2 Al Ahram's English version carrying an article from the Reuters feed, g(r)omgoru. Why? |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2016-11-22 06:04 |
| #1 I had to look up the source? |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2016-11-22 04:04 |