Word: guardedly
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Iran's Revolutionary Guard is notorious in the West as the troublemaking arm of the Islamic Republic, accused of supporting Hizballah and other militant groups, destabilizing the Iraqi government, and nurturing a covert nuclear weapons program. Inside Iran itself, however, the image of the Guards is more that of an economic powerhouse, with more influence and assets than even the Tehran bazaar, the institution whose cash has traditionally helped drive the country's politics...
...conservative supporters, the Guard's economic clout is neither new nor troublesome. Iran's constitution authorizes the military to play a peacetime economic role, and with the extensive engineering resources it amassed during the eight-year war with Iraq, it is only fitting, the thinking goes, for the Guard to run a vast financial empire reputedly worth billions of dollars. But to reformists, the Guard is to blame for the poor performance of Iran's economy, as well as its tattered relations with the international community. "There are elements within the IRGC [the acronym for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps...
...expanding economic influence of the Guard helps explain Washington's reported plan to name them a "specially designated global terrorist" organization. The designation would would enable the Bush Administration to press European corporations and banks to curb business activities in Iran, so as not to run afoul of U.S. banking regulations. Though European allies have been reluctant to accede to Washington's demands for sanctions, the limited measures adopted thus far have, nonetheless, made a dent in the Iranian economy, affecting both imports and domestic manufacturing, according to Iranian businessmen and analysts...
...IRGC's economic activities have expanded most significantly in the past five to six years. Originally created in 1979 as a parallel military to prevent the traditional armed forces from mounting a coup against the new regime, the Guard developed its assets and engineering capability during the Iran-Iraq War, growing into a 150,000-strong force that defended the country's borders with selflessness and revolutionary zeal...
...After the war, the IRGC's resources were directed toward reconstruction activities, partly as a way of absorbing the energies of the tens of thousands of ideologically committed veterans returning from the front, preventing any disruptive political activism. Because the Guard reports to Supreme Leader Ayatullah Ali Khamenei, the bulk of its activities are not subject to parliamentary oversight. This free hand, along with their mandate to patrol the country's borders, has helped members engage in widespread smuggling, according to Iranian analysts. Some of the goods that are smuggled in, such as alcohol, do little harm to the formal...