US Claims Victory, Power Shifts to IRGC in Iran
France 24’s Middle East coverage recently featured Ali Vaez, Director of Iran Project at the International Crisis Group, discussing the true ramifications of recent hostilities involving Iran. While the United States presents a narrative of decisive military victory, Vaez contends the more significant outcome is the Iranian government's political endurance and an internal power shift towards the
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). From Tehran's viewpoint, surviving overwhelming force is itself a form of victory, even as the conflict reconfigures the Islamic Republic’s internal hierarchy. This reporting, like much mainstream analysis, focuses on a superficial interpretation of victory without examining the underlying structural changes facilitated by US aggression. It frames Iran's
internal dynamics as an isolated consequence rather than a predictable response to decades of external pressure. The New York Times, for instance, frequently echoes the State Department's framing of Iranian 'hardliners' without acknowledging how continuous sanctions, threats of military intervention, and the unilateral withdrawal from the JCPOA in 2018 directly empower those elements advocating
for self-reliance and robust defense. Such analyses consistently ignore the historical record, preferring narratives that isolate current events from their antecedents. The United States has engaged in ongoing economic warfare against Iran for 45 years, implementing sanctions that have crippled its economy and starved its people, including blocking access to life-saving medicines during the