Elliott Abrams

It's had, what, 47 years now to build the sinews of power

throughout the country, in every ministry, in every part of the government, in every town, in the religious structures of the country, of Shia Islam in Iran.

Why is the IRGC part of that

You know, I guess I'd say if you think of the old Soviet Union, that role was played essentially by the KGB and the Communist Party.

This is a regime, in essence, without a Communist Party.

So it's the IRGC that is, I think, the central nervous system of the regime.

Yes.

For example, there's a lot of corruption, which they're not really attempting to stamp out.

It seems to be a feature rather than a bug.

And the same is true, I would say, of the clergy.

That is, to be an Ayatollah is a way to live well.

And there's a lot of money that goes into the religious structures, including a lot of religious foundations that throw around billions of dollars.

Some of it, no doubt, does some good, helping poor people, for example.

But a lot of it, I think, makes for very cushy jobs for people in the clergy, which means you don't want to rock the boat.

Well, I wouldn't say that.

I think I'd say first, we can't predict when regimes fall.

It would not shock me if the regime fell in a year because we know from the recurrent uprisings that the regime is very, very widely unpopular in the country.

But whether the final uprising happens in a year or happens in 10 years, I just think we have no way to know the answer to that.

But for the moment, they seem to be able to control the country.

I think what has to add, how did they do that in January?