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Media Advisory

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) – also known as the Pasdaran, Persian for "guards" – has played an important role in attempting to suppress the protests that have followed the June 12 Iranian presidential election. The Iranian government has now threatened to make examples of the protesters by trying them for crimes.

At the same time, amid a crackdown by the Iranian authorities on traditional media coverage, Iranians are making extraordinary use of social media to discuss unfolding events.

RAND experts are available for interviews about the latest developments, including:

• How deep does the Revolutionary Guards permeate Iranian society?
• What additional actions could Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei or the Revolutionary Guards take to secure President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's power?
• What influence might the United States and other western countries have in affecting Tehran's treatment of protesters?
• What are the effects of the technology that protesters have used to communicate unfolding events in Iran?

• What is the future of former Prime Minister Mir Hussein Mousavi following his apparent loss to Ahmadinejad?

Ali Nader is an international affairs analyst specializing in Iranian decision-making and internal politics, Iranian foreign and national security policy and Persian Gulf security. He is co-author of "The Rise of the Pasdaran: Assessing the Domestic Roles of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps."

Frederic Wehrey is a senior policy analyst specializing in the domestic roles of Iran's Revolutionary Guards. He is co-author of "The Rise of the Pasdaran: Assessing the Domestic Roles of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps."

Amb. Robert Hunter is a senior advisor at RAND who specializes in Middle East and European affairs. He is co-author of "Building a Successful Palestinian State."

Dalia Dassa Kaye is associate director of the Center for Middle East Public Policy at RAND and author of "Time for Arms Talks? Iran, Israel, and Middle East Arms Control" (Arms Control Today, 2004).

Lowell H. Schwartz is an international policy analyst who specializes in U.S. public diplomacy and information operations.

To arrange an interview:

Contact the RAND Office of Media Relations, (703) 413-1100, ext. 5117 or (310) 451-6913, or send an email to media@rand.org.

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