World Spotlight: Iran's Shadow Army

The damaging detail behind the seizure of 15 British Royal Marines and sailors is that the troops were captured by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). Soaked with nationalist ideology, the IRGC is controlled by hard-line cleric Ayatullah Ali Khamenei, the ultimate font of religious and political power in Iran, and exists in many ways apart from the rest of the Iranian government. The Guards' activities are often a thorn in the side of Iran's Foreign Ministry, which is forced to repair the ruptures in Tehran's diplomatic relations. Nevertheless, the IRGC has been one of Iran's main instruments in projecting power...

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