Dissatisfaction with the sharp collapse of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s economy, the regime’s response to the Coronavirus crisis, the prevalence of unemployment, water shortages, and permanent blackouts in recent months have sparked protests across Iran.
While Iranians are protesting for their rights and pushing for their demands to be met, the security forces of the Islamic Republic have been mobilized to suppress protests and exercise their power by force.
According to Amnesty International, in the protests that began in November 2009 after a sudden and sharp rise in fuel prices across the country, the regime only carried out a brutal crackdown that left at least 304 people dead.
Recently, security forces shot dead at least 20 people during protests in Khuzestan on July 15. The protests spread to Tehran, Islamshahr, Karaj, Tabriz, and Isfahan, and were accompanied by smaller protests in several other cities.
The regime has relied heavily on the IRGC as well as the IRGC-affiliated Basij resistance force in recent and previous protests to suppress popular opposition.
However, observers have pointed out that the IRGC is under increasing pressure and that its arm abroad, the Quds Force, has almost reached the point of failure following the Iranian regime’s expansionist policies.
The IRGC’s Quds Force struggles with budget deficits as it tries to advance the regime’s agenda in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Lebanon, and beyond, making it unable to pay affiliated militias adequate salaries or, in some cases, pay them at all.
Analysts, meanwhile, have questioned the effectiveness of Tehran’s military strategy and the overall readiness of Iran’s armed forces, calling Iran’s approach to military funding “problematic.”
The regime pays very little attention to the conventional armed forces, the army, and pays little respect to it, and the budget allocated to this force is much less than that of the IRGC, especially the Quds Force.
The Iranian regime’s prioritization of the IRGC has also led it to seize a large share of the country’s military budget, which is paid for by the Iranian people.
Observers say the issue has begun a vicious cycle that makes the regime’s poor priorities poorer and dissatisfaction increases. They added that until something changes, this cycle of opposition and repression will continue, which will exhaust the IRGC and weaken its ability to maintain order.
They added that this could eventually destabilize or even overthrow the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Source » iranbriefing