Iran's Revolutionary Guards Commander fears attack against Iran and warns Hezbollah not to attack Israel for fear of reprisal

In the latest Middle Eastern Outlook, American Enterprise Institute (AEI) resident fellow Ali Alfoneh examines how Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force (IRGC QF) is increasingly shaped by a new generation of commanders like Brigadier General Iraj Masjedi, whose close ties with Iraqi insurgents--now power brokers--date back to the Iran-Iraq war.

The amount of 20 percent enriched uranium Iran has and is continuing to produce far exceeds any civilian requirement it needs for the Tehran research reactor (the ostensible reason for which the regime says it needs to produce such material).

The failure of pro-democracy forces to mount an effective show of force on the June 12 anniversary of the bloody repression of protests against last year's stolen election shows how well Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has augmented its power throughout the last year.

Iraqi Kurds and Iraqis more broadly can argue about whether Western concerns about Iran’s nuclear program are justified and they can also debate responsibility for the recent tension between Tehran and Washington. Analysts—whether they are in Washington, Jerusalem, or Tehran—largely agree, however, that the Middle East is closer to a major war now than at any time since 2003.

Yesterday the Treasury Department designated six al Qaeda members as global terrorists. These operatives form a network that funnels money and personnel from the Gulf to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan via Iran and is tied to other enemy groups. Al Qaeda's safe haven in Iran is not unlike the militant sanctuary in Pakistan.

More than three decades after the Revolution of 1979, the Islamic Republic of Iran Army and the IRGC remain entangled in a rivalry which the Army — should the hitherto trend continue — is bound to lose.

Iranian bluster is bad enough. When Tehran is able to put substance behind it, American interests will truly be in peril. The question for Obama and the Republicans seeking to replace him is whether the United States can bear an Iranian challenge which will grow exponentially once Iran goes nuclear.