Iran’s early 2019 strategic preparations led to a crisis with the United States

In late April, Iranian military delegations led by senior commanders traveled overseas. Navy Commander Rear-Adm. Hossein Khanzadi led a delegation to Beijing, and Iranian Defense Minister Brig.-Gen. Amir Hatami to Moscow.

Hatami discussed the expansion of military cooperation and invited the Russians to joint naval maneuvers at the mouth of the Persian Gulf. “Based on negotiations with the Russian Navy, the force will dispatch a fleet to the southern regions of Iran this year,” Khanzadi announced upon his return from the People’s Republic of China (PRC). No date was set. The maneuvers would take place in an area with frequent US Navy presence.

Meanwhile, Iran has escalated and expedited preparations for regional confrontation with the Gulf States, both in al-Jazira and in the Arabian Peninsula, as well as with Israel, in accordance with the long-term doctrine adopted in early 2019. Iran committed to ultimately dominating the Muslim world, consolidating control over the Lebanon-Syria-Iraq region, and actively containing Israel. Tenets of this doctrine were first aired publicly during the commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution between mid-February and mid-March 2019.

Historically, most important is the triumph of Shi’ite Islam over Sunni Islam.

“The Imam [Khomeini] successfully melded the Islamic and Iranian civilizations,” explained former IRGC Commander Maj.-Gen. Yahya Rahim Safavi. “Today, the heart of Islamic culture and civilization beats in Iran, and Wahhabi Islam in Saudi Arabia and al-Azhar in Egypt cannot dominate the Islamic World.” This development has tangible consequences. “Today, a united Islamic army has been created in Syria. Today, we have succeeded in reaching the Mediterranean by using our ideological strength.”

IRGC Aerospace Force Commander Brig.-Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh concurred that the Islamic Revolution’s “doctrine is expanding to the farthest corners of the world, and in countries such as Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen. At one time the enemies attacked and we were on the defense. But today we attack and they are on the defense.”

The IRGC’s Quds Forces Commander Maj.-Gen. Qassem Soleimani was more pragmatic. “Today, if the Islamic World feels that it has deterrence and significant power, and an enemy like the Zionist regime does not dare attack the Islamic [Republic], it is thanks to the existence of the Hizbullah stream in Lebanon and Islamic streams such as Hamas in Palestine. And they, as clarified by the great architect of the Revolution [Imam Khomeini], are an outcome of the Islamic Revolution.” The ultimate objective of the new doctrine was to transform the entire Muslim world and put it under Iran’s influence.