Hillary Clinton on Iran:
If you know anything about Iranian history, if you know anything about how the Iranian military, the IRGC, and the people inside it operate, they run the country. The clerics are figureheads. Were they ever…
Assessment
Hillary Clinton is asserting that real power in Iran rests with the IRGC and military, not the clerical leadership. This frames the clerics as symbolic while the security apparatus controls the state. The implication is that negotiations or pressure targeting only political leaders may miss the actual decision makers. Watch for whether this view gains traction in policy debates about Iran strategy.