The IRGC Says It Wants to Go on the “Offensive”

We are a long way from the (falsely) optimistic statements made by senior Pakistani officials and even American leaders, who regularly spoke of “positive contacts” in the Iranian negotiations and, often, of an imminent agreement between the two protagonists in the Iranian conflict.

President Donald Trump has, to be sure, put the airstrikes against Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) positions, infrastructure and warehouses on “pause.” But the same cannot be said of the mullahs’ regime, which is clearly taking advantage of this lull to catch its breath, reorganize its forces and replenish its offensive arsenal, as far as possible, while shifting the “front” and military operations onto the territory of a third party: Yemen.

Against this backdrop, the Houthi militia in Yemen, beholden to Teheran, has continued over the past 24 hours to attack Saudi Arabia and positions or strategic sites held by the Yemeni government, which is backed by Riyadh and recognized by the international community. On the morning and early afternoon of Wednesday, August 12, the Houthis once again shelled the port of Mokha, held by the Yemeni army, as well as other pro-government positions.

In retaliation, Yemeni government forces used heavy artillery to bombard Houthi centers and gathering points on the Marib front, while drones targeted military vehicles and fortifications belonging to the pro-Iranian militia in Taiz. A senior Yemeni official said Wednesday afternoon that “dozens of Houthi militiamen were killed or wounded in these operations, across several fronts.” The pan-Arab channel Al-Hadath reported that “84 Houthi militiamen have been killed in six days, including 28 senior officials.”

It should be noted that late Tuesday night, the Houthis launched ballistic missiles and drones against Saudi forces in Marib. The pro-Iranian militia also claimed to have attacked Saudi weapons and ammunition depots, as well as Saudi command centers.

A Psychological War

Concurrently with the shift of military tensions to the Yemeni theater, a kind of psychological war appears to be escalating between the two protagonists of the conflict. President Donald Trump once again described Iran’s leaders as “liars” and “devious” figures, stressing that he did not trust the mullahs’ regime.

President Trump also said that “the Revolutionary Guards are running out of steam, they have been decimated and are on the run.” The White House chief added that there was no question of the Islamic Republic being allowed to “play the spoiler in the Middle East.” “Iran is no longer the tyrant of the Middle East,” he said.

The Revolutionary Guards, for their part, have been more aggressive and belligerent in their statements. They first said that no talks were underway with the Americans over an extension of the cease-fire, adding that, in reality, “there is no cease-fire for there to be any question of extending it.”

The adviser to the commander of the Pasdaran was more explicit about Iran’s intentions on this front. Reflecting, no doubt, the radicalization of the Islamic Republic’s leadership following the recent appointment of six senior officers to key military and security posts, he stated explicitly that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had shifted from a “defensive doctrine to an offensive doctrine and must prepare to conduct operations on foreign soil.” He went on, further clarifying the Pasdaran’s new posture: “One of the paths that could be pursued is to prolong this war until the next presidential term (in the United States), in order to wear them down (…). Economic interests around the world can easily be destroyed.” He further specified that “the number of missiles we produce every day is greater than the number of missiles we launch each day.”

EU and 26 States Call for an End to Executions in Iran

As this senior Pasdaran official spoke of a new “offensive strategy,” Kuwait’s Interior Ministry said Wednesday afternoon that the State Security Department had foiled “a terrorist plot targeting vital infrastructure in the country.”

Meanwhile, in another instance of tensions being shifted onto the territory of a third party, the commander of the “Quds Force” (part of the Pasdaran), Esmail Qaani, who is visiting Baghdad, said Wednesday that the new Iraqi government’s decision to establish a state monopoly over weapons “constitutes a stab in the back of Iran.” The Iranian official reportedly called on Iraqi militias beholden to the Islamic Republic to oppose the weapons monopoly policy being pursued by the authorities in Baghdad.

It is also worth noting that the European Union and 26 other states issued a joint statement calling on the mullahs’ regime to immediately halt the executions of young people and Iranian nationals who took part in the latest protests in several parts of the Islamic Republic.