The Pezeshkian Paradox: Iran’s New President and the IRGC

UANI Senior Advisor Dr. Saeid Golkar and UANI Director for IRGC Research Kasra Aarabi writes: "Almost a month has passed since Masoud Pezeshkian, the new so-called ‘reformist’ president of the Islamic Republic of Iran, delivered his first speech at the UN General Assembly in New York, where he started a charm offensive. In his efforts to flirt with Western media, the new president has even raised the idea of de-escalating tensions with Israel, suggesting that the regime in Iran could disarm if Israel did the same. But while Pezeshkian’s comments captured his target audience in the West, less reported was the fact that the new president received a huge domestic backlash from some elements of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its hardline constituency."