Iran’s new military doctrine is designed to make victory meaningless

Iran’s latest military doctrine rests on a dangerous proposition: a country does not have to defeat a superior enemy on the battlefield to deny it a meaningful victory. By threatening broader retaliation, expanding the geography of conflict and exploiting vulnerabilities in regional trade, Tehran is attempting to make the political rewards of military action increasingly difficult to secure. On Oct. 21, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced that Iran’s military doctrine would move beyond retaliatory strikes towards offensive and asymmetric operations. The declaration reinforced earlier statements by Iranian military officials that the country was shifting away from a predominantly defensive posture. Although official announcements do not establish how comprehensively this change has been implemented, they reveal the direction in […]