Unlike Venezuela’s military elite, whose loyalty ultimately depends on financial incentives, Iran’s security apparatus has always viewed itself as the armed guardian of a sacred Islamic revolutionary mission. Iran, however, represents a fundamentally different political organism. Confusing the two systems could produce disastrous strategic errors. The Islamic Republic of Iran …

Ali Ardashir Larijani, an influential Iranian politician and former Speaker of Parliament, was assassinated in an Israeli airstrike on March 17, 2026. Ali Ardashir Larijani (3 June 1958 – 17 March 2026), the Iranian politician, former Speaker of Parliament, chief nuclear negotiator, and secretary of the Supreme National Security Council …

Top Iranian security official Ali Larijani and the commander of Iran’s internal Basij militia, Gholamreza Soleimani, have been killed, Iran’s state media confirmed hours after Israel claimed to have killed the two. In a statement carried by Iran’s semi-official Mehr news, the country’s Supreme National Security Council confirmed the assassination …