{"id":11193,"date":"2019-05-14T08:55:28","date_gmt":"2019-05-14T06:55:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iranfreedom.org\/en\/?p=11193"},"modified":"2019-05-14T08:55:31","modified_gmt":"2019-05-14T06:55:31","slug":"strategic-deadlock-iran-mek-irgc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iranfreedom.org\/en\/articles\/2019\/05\/strategic-deadlock-iran-mek-irgc\/11193\/","title":{"rendered":"The strategic deadlock of the mullahs\u2019 regime"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The strategic deadlock of the mullahs\u2019 regime<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After Iran regime\u2019s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif\u2019s failure in his trip to the US to lure America, it finds itself in a strategic deadlock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


By Mahdavi<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This strategic deadlock<\/strong> comes at a time when \u00a0Ali Khamenei is trying in vain to \u00a0close the widening rifts in his regime after two recent strategic blows it received, the crippling sanctions against the regime\u2019s oil exports, being its most important source of income, and the U.S. State Department designating<\/strong><\/a> the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC<\/a><\/strong>) as a \u201cForeign Terrorist Organization\u201d (FTO<\/strong><\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This strategic deadlock has widen the schism among regime factions as in the most recent case of Javad Zarif\u2019s quest of launching a negotiation with US:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ebtekar newspaper, Rouhani\u2019s faction: \u201cIn his visit to New York, Zarif showed Tehran\u2019s desire to negotiate\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And on the other front: Qassem Soleimani, Commander of (IRGC) Quds Force in confessing to the strat<\/a>egic deadlock<\/a>, rejecting negotiations: \u201c America wants to force us to enter talks with this country \u2026 any negotiation under the current circumstances is surrendering to America\u2026\u201d.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond all disputes, it is clear that Zarif\u2019s proposal in New York to open a new round of dialogue under the pretext of prisoners exchange was not a decision that the Rouhani administration made overnight and its foreign minister announced suddenly.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Khamenei must have known and approved it. In fact, Rouhani and Zarif have not been the decision makers behind this maneuver and the current U.S. administration knows very well who makes major decisions in Iran. As in Zarif\u2019s resignation, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted: \u201cWe note @JZarif\u2019s resignation. We will see if it sticks. Either way, he and @Hassan Rouhani are just front men for the corrupt religious mafia. We know @Khamenei makes all final decisions. Our policy is unchanged\u2014the regime must behave like a normal country and respect its people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

We note @JZarif<\/a>\u2019s resignation. We\u2019ll see if it sticks. Either way, he and @HassanRouhani<\/a> are just front men for a corrupt religious mafia. We know @khamenei_ir<\/a> makes all final decisions. Our policy is unchanged\u2014the regime must behave like a normal country and respect its people.<\/p>\u2014 Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) February 26, 2019<\/a><\/blockquote>