The IRGC eyes Iran’s presidency
The IRGC is eyeing Iran's presidency in 2021 and Parviz Fattah is emerging as its perfect candidate. This piece is the first comprehensive analysis of what a Fattah presidency would mean for Iran's domestic and foreign policy.
With the election of former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf as speaker of the Iranian Parliament, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s “Second Phase of the Revolution” is well under way in two of the three branches of government in the Islamic Republic. All eyes have now turned to the presidency, with elections less than one year away.
Unveiled by Iran’s supreme leader in February 2019, the “Second Phase of the Islamic Revolution” seeks to prepare the next generation of Islamist revolutionaries to uphold Khamenei’s hardline vision and prepare the foundations for succession after his demise. At its core, it rests on “young and hezbollahi” (“ideologically hardline”) leadership across the three branches of government, which translates to Khamenei giving these posts to his clerical confidents and members of the IRGC.