The power struggle in Iran sparked by the disputed re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is weakening the country’s ability to back Islamist groups Hamas and Hezbollah, as well as Iraqi militants.
The main coordinator of support to these groups has been Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, whose Basij militia played a role in suppressing demonstrations against last month’s election results.
With the country still divided over the election, the Guards will focus on keeping their patron Ahmadinejad in office, said Jeremy Binnie, an analyst at Jane’s Defence Weekly in London.
“Their head guys would presumably at this stage be more worried about domestic opposition than they would be about regional scheming,” Binnie said.
