Iran’s hard-line leadership has used a recent period of relative calm to prepare for a wider confrontation with the US and its allies, despite diplomatic efforts to reopen the and wind down the war, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Iranian and Arab officials cited by the report said that Tehran viewed a June 17 memorandum of understanding signed by US President as a possible attempt by Washington and Israel to ease pressure on the global economy while preparing for another attack. Iran instead used the period to strengthen its military and security apparatus.
The measures include giving the (IRGC) greater control over the regular army, appointing veterans of the Iran-Iraq war and past internal crackdowns to key positions, expanding domestic counterintelligence operations and increasing missile and drone production.
Iran has also expanded coordination with allied militias in Iraq and Yemen. Arab intelligence officials cited by the newspaper said intercepted communications indicated that IRGC commanders had been sent to areas controlled by Yemen’s Houthis to prepare for a wider confrontation with Saudi Arabia.
IRGC deploys missiles around Red Sea
The IRGC also reportedly deployed missiles, naval weapons and drones around the Red Sea and provided the Houthis with intelligence and target lists involving Saudi ports and energy facilities.
The escalation has raised concerns among Gulf states, with Iran-backed forces accused of targeting ships and energy infrastructure. Iran has also intensified attacks on US troops and that Iranian missiles have struck targets in Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain.
“We took full advantage of the ceasefire period,” IRGC spokesman Brig Gen Hossein Mohebbi said in July, according to the report. “We enhanced our capabilities, accelerated our missile production rate and improved missile accuracy.”
Iran reshuffles security leadership
Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has also moved to strengthen the security establishment, according to the report.
Mohsen Rezaei, who led the IRGC during the Iran-Iraq war, was appointed secretary of the Supreme National Security Council. Hossein Taeb, a veteran security official, was brought back to lead the Basij, with the force tasked with developing a “popular intelligence network”.
The leadership also consolidated IRGC influence over the regular army and formally appointed Ahmad Vahidi as IRGC commander in chief. Vahidi was tasked with conducting “powerful offensive operations against the enemy”, according to the decree cited by the newspaper.
“The baseline is war,” former US diplomat and Iran nuclear negotiator Alan Eyre told the WSJ, adding Iran would remain on a wartime footing while preparing for another attack.
Diplomatic efforts face setbacks
The developments highlight a growing gap between Washington and Tehran’s approach to the conflict. Trump’s June agreement offered Iran sanctions waivers, access to billions of dollars in frozen funds and the prospect of a $300 billion reconstruction fund in exchange for reopening the Strait of Hormuz and negotiating over its nuclear programme.
However, Iranian forces resumed attacks on ships in the strait in July. Mediators told the WSJ that Iranian diplomats had agreed with Oman on arrangements for gradually reopening the waterway, but the effort was subsequently blocked by the IRGC.
With negotiations stalled, Trump has stepped back to see whether sanctions and a US Navy blockade will pressure Tehran into changing its position, according to US officials cited by the newspaper.
Iranian officials, meanwhile, remain deeply distrustful of Trump’s intentions. Mehdi Mohammadi, an adviser to Iran’s chief negotiator, described the current stalemate as the “calm before the storm” and said Iran was prepared for a “great confrontation”.
