IRGC Commander: Internal Weakness is a More Serious Threat than U.S. Military Threat

Mohammad Ali Jafari, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), emphasized that the U.S. military threat is 'not very serious' and stated that 'internal weaknesses and threats are more serious.' According to Fars News Agency, on Friday, August 5, Jafari described U.S. threats as 'empty and baseless' and claimed that the U.S. would not launch a military attack because, as he put it, 'it would have very heavy costs for them and would disrupt their soft war game.' Just a day before these remarks, Qassem Soleimani, commander of the IRGC's Quds Force, reacted to a tweet from Donald Trump, threatening that 'the Red Sea is no longer safe for American presence,' and told the U.S. President, 'I will stand against you alone.' A few days earlier, Trump had warned Hassan Rouhani not to threaten the U.S. or face consequences that few countries in history have experienced. Trump's remarks were a response to Rouhani's speech, in which he referred to war and peace with Iran as 'the mother of wars and the mother of peace' and warned the U.S. not to 'play with the lion's tail.' Despite the escalating verbal conflict between officials of the two countries, several Iranian officials have dismissed the possibility of military confrontation, with one parliament member describing the verbal exchanges as 'dialogue between the two sides.' Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, head of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of Parliament, stated on Friday that despite the intensifying verbal conflict between Iran and the U.S., both countries 'have no desire for war with each other.' According to this parliament member, due to the 'closure of diplomatic channels,' both sides communicate through speeches, 'in which the only thing absent is diplomatic considerations.' On the other hand, the IRGC commander, in his remarks on Friday, emphasized the 'management problem of the country,' attributing this issue to what he called 'Western perspectives and liberal ideological foundations.' The commander of the IRGC accused Abolhassan Banisadr, Iran's first president, of ignoring 'the use of domestic capacities' and 'the utilization of youth,' claiming that Banisadr had told Ayatollah Khomeini in the early months of the Iran-Iraq war that 'we cannot fight and must negotiate with the Iraqis.' Banisadr has not yet responded to the IRGC commander's remarks. Previously, Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, and Yahya Rahim Safavi, the former IRGC commander, strongly rejected the accusation of 'betrayal' against Banisadr. In his remarks on Friday, Jafari accused some Iranian officials of being influenced by 'media hype' and claimed they have become 'despondent.' Previously, close associates of the Supreme Leader have repeatedly accused Hassan Rouhani of seeking 'compromise' and normalization of relations with the U.S. through the JCPOA. For instance, Ali Saidi, the Supreme Leader's representative in the IRGC, implicitly referred to Rouhani and his close associates as 'the Niyavaran circle' and stated that pursuing the idea of 'peaceful coexistence with the West' in Iran is the result of this group's activities. Last year, several participants in the Quds Day rally shouted slogans against Rouhani, including 'Death to the hypocrite' and 'Rouhani, Banisadr, congratulations on your connection.'