Posted on 04/19/2026 5:50:51 PM PDT by Libloather
Iran’s hardline Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps leader has effectively taken control of Tehran’s military and negotiation team over the weekend, analysts said.
IRGC Commander Maj. Gen. Ahmad Vahidi and members of his inner circle have allegedly taken charge of the Islamic republic, as evident by Iran’s attacks on ships trying to sail through the Strait of Hormuz and Tehran’s refusal to join peace talks with the US this week, the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) think tank said.
The sudden shift to a hardline stance also shows that more moderate members of Iran’s leadership, including Iranian Foreign Affairs Minister Abbas Araghchi, have been sidelined.
Araghchi had initially agreed to open the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend after reaching a consensus with the Trump administration, but the IRGC demanded it remain shut in the face of the American blockade on Iranian ports.
Vahidi reportedly received the backing of Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council secretary and an IRGC veteran, to control the strait — further cementing Vahidi’s grip on Iran.
The IRCG’s fast attack ships remain Iran’s main form of naval force in the key waterway after US-Israeli airstrikes sunk more than 150 vessels of Tehran’s conventional navy during the war.
Iran had attacked at least three ships trying to get through the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend, signaling that the oil chokepoint remains closed off as hundreds of ships are still stuck in the Persian Gulf.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
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Big Mo is limpin' to the finish.
Yes. They’ve chosen death.
There aren’t going to be enough virgin goats to go around.
“more moderate members of Iran’s leadership”
What makes an Iranian regime leader “moderate”?
Do they only want to genocide most Jews instead of all Jews?
Yeah, for about 15 more minutes.
Israel so notes and will likely take him & his co-horts out very soon.......
is almost as ridiculous as considering any democrat here as moderate.
Does anyone think they’ll pull a Jim Jones on the people before offing themselves?
No, the radicals want to kill you.
The moderates only want the radicals to kill you.
CC
May the virgins spit in his dinner.
They have about 700 of them. Don’t think these nuts won’t go for the virgins.
Can’t wait to see a few short videos of the boats getting blown to bits like the drug running boats of the coast of S. America.
“a growing backlog of aging tonnage that is expected to head for the breaking yards in the coming years. Included in the backlog are hundreds of tankers operating in the so-called dark fleet”
https://shipbreakingplatform.org/platform-publishes-list-2025/
There are hundreds of tankers of little value available for Strait transit use. These tankers might proceed to India, which is a short trip away. The oil can be shipped on from India as Russian oil has been.
I already said this from the beginning— THE ENTITY WHO CONTROLS THE WEAPONS IS THE *REAL* POWER IN IRAN. That would be whoever the stormtroopers of the IRGC follows.
All the other negotiators can’t do a thing without the IRGC approval.
Israel knows this. They have been targeting and killing IRGC Commanders since the start of Operation Epic Fury. We on the other hand, have been wasting our time negotiating with patsies who can’t control anything.
The IRCG’s fast attack ships...
“The IRCG’s fast attack ships”
speedboats
Trump loves to blast speedboats to bits; just ask Senator Rand.
Where will they sleep at night?
Lock on and let it rip! Sounds like a specops coming up.
It’s like being a little bit gay
“The IRCG’s fast attack ships remain Iran’s main form of naval force in the key waterway”
Why are Iran’s shores not boat free zones?
[“more moderate members of Iran’s leadership”
What makes an Iranian regime leader “moderate”?
Do they only want to genocide most Jews instead of all Jews?]
I would say a “moderate” is an Iranian who values his own neck more than religious fanaticism.
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