The proliferation of conflict in the Middle East is deeply concerning. Proxy groups affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard have been active, extending the reach of more narrow regional wars. It’s a stark reality that Hamas, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Assad regime in Syria, the Houthi rebels, and others receive logistical, training, and financial support from the Iranian regime. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) plays a pivotal role in this support, offering training in drone attacks, various technologies, missiles, and establishing weapon and artillery factories, thus expanding their terrorist proxies. It must be said with certainty that without the Iranian regime, the current conflicts would not have erupted.

The Iranian regime’s response to domestic uprisings, like those in 2009, 2017, 2019, and 2022, demonstrated its ruthless willingness to use cruelty against its own people to preserve the regime. Simultaneously, it has initiated malicious regional activities in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon, and more. The mainstay of this regime’s repression, terror, and warmongering is the IRGC, which must be stopped.

Former Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-CT), in an interview with Forbes Newsroom, spoke about Iran’s role in the regional crisis:

On Iran, Lieberman was far from sanguine, stating that Iran was the key instigator and actor in the attack. “It’s time for us to get real about Iran. There’s no hope for peace with Iran.” He praised the Wall Street Journal report which claims that Iran helped plan the attack, and urged the U.S. – and the world more broadly – to take a harder line on Tehran. “What I’d like to see from the international community… [is] a focus on the source of the problem, which is Iran.”

Image: The IRGC. YouTube screen grab.

To understand this issue, we must answer the question of why Ayatollah Khamenei traffics in proxy wars and fears direct warfare. The fact is that the Iranian regime lacks popular legitimacy and support from its own people. Consequently, it relies on external backing to withstand ongoing societal crises like unemployment, poverty, and inflation, as well as continuous protests and uprisings.

In essence, this regime needs an external crutch to stay afloat. For instance, the Shah’s support came from foreign powers. When Jimmy Carter’s human rights policy pressured him, he was forced to change his domestic policies, including limiting the activities of SAVAK (the secret service) and discontinuing torture and executions. This eventually led to the 1979 anti-monarchy revolution that overthrew the Pahlavi dynasty.

It’s a bit different now in Iran. Even as Khamenai foments war abroad, at home, his regime relies on the IRGC both to suppress the Iranian people and to keep proxy wars going. The Iranian people, of course, fund all of this. However, if you remove the IRGC’s proxy network, many regime forces, along with the IRGC itself, would crumble. Hence, the oft-repeated phrase that, when it comes to what’s happening in Israel and elsewhere in the Middle East, the head of the snake is Iran.

For now, the Iranian regime continues to benefit from the passive responses and hesitations of Western countries regarding the IRGC. These governments still avoid designating the IRGC as a terrorist organization due to various pretexts. This approach encourages the Iranian regime to persist in its regional aggression.”

Hassan Mahmoudi is an Iran & Middle East political and Economic researcher.