IRGC responds to Rouhani's comments
Following the president's warning against the consolidation of power, the head of the IRGC has criticized interpretations of strife between the president and his organization, which he credits with maintaining Iran's opposition to the United States.
The public, albeit indirect, exchanges between Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) head Mohammad Ali Jaffari have been making headlines in the Iranian media.
In a Dec. 8 speech at an anti-corruption conference, Rouhani said, “We have to eliminate the consolidation of power. With the consolidation of power in one institutions, corruption is created. … If the guns, the money, the newspapers … are gathered in one place, there will be corruption.”
Many observers construed Rouhani’s comments as aimed at the IRGC, which wields considerable military, economic and media influence in Iran.
At an event for the IRGC engineering firm Khatam al Anbia Dec. 16, Jaffari was asked about “the assumptions of foreign media that the president’s latest statements were about the IRGC.” Jaffari replied, “We, too, heard about these assumptions.” He said that when asked later about the statements, Rouhani replied, “My meaning wasn’t the IRGC, and my aim was a recommendation and general analysis.”
