Iran Now A Military Junta As Questions About Nuclear Material Swirl

This last weekend has seen some complicated developments in Iran.

First of all, while President Trump was looking to exploit the chaos that was clearly developing between various leaders in Iran, there will be no Iranian representatives showing up to continue negotiations in Pakistan this week. it seems the IRGC is done with the back-and-forth between leaders like Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. A report emerged over the weekend that Iran is essentially now a military junta, as the IRGC has taken control.

Iran’s hardline Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps leader has effectively taken control of Tehran’s military and negotiation team over the weekend, analysts said.

IRGC Commander Maj. Gen. Ahmad Vahidi and members of his inner circle have allegedly taken charge of the Islamic republic, as evident by Iran’s attacks on ships trying to sail through the Strait of Hormuz and Tehran’s refusal to join peace talks with the US this week, the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) think tank said.

The sudden shift to a hardline stance also shows that more moderate members of Iran’s leadership, including Iranian Foreign Affairs Minister Abbas Araghchi, have been sidelined.

Araghchi had initially agreed to open the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend after reaching a consensus with the Trump administration, but the IRGC demanded it remain shut in the face of the American blockade on Iranian ports.

Vahidi reportedly received the backing of Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council secretary and an IRGC veteran, to control the strait — further cementing Vahidi’s grip on Iran.