The Web of Patronage Keeping Iran’s Regime in Control

“Iran’s sprawling security apparatus isn’t solely held together by ideology. It is underpinned by a system of economic incentives that make the regime’s collapse a direct threat to the livelihood of its acolytes,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Since its founding, the Islamic Republic has built a tentacled ecosystem that controls more than half of the economy and acts as a powerful protection policy for the regime. It rewards loyalists with cash and careers and other opportunities in exchange for crushing dissent and staying true to the regime, say academics and analysts who study the Iranian regime.”

“The depth of the social and economic contract is helping the regime maintain cohesion despite the weekslong Israeli and American air campaign eroding its leadership and infrastructure. Only 20% of Iranians support the regime, recent polls show, but they constitute a more cohesive block than the opposition, binding the ruling Shia clerics, paramilitary forces and civilians through economic interests.”