Iran’s unstable regime, the power struggle inside the IRGC, and why Tehran may view President Trump’s diplomacy as weakness."
On this episode of Shoulder to Shoulder, Rabbi Pesach Wolicki and Pastor Doug Reed sit down with Dr. Harold Rhode, a Middle East specialist and former adviser on Islamic affairs to the U.S. Secretary of Defense, for a conversation about Iran’s unstable regime, the power struggle inside the IRGC, and why Tehran may view President Trump’s diplomacy as weakness.
7 days ago1 min read
How to Understand Erdoğan & His Neo-Ottoman strategy to Re-establish the Muslim Caliphate and Destroy the Democratic and Secular Turkish Republic Founded by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
By Harold Rhode Chapter 1 of the Book “Ally No More – Erdoğan’s New Turkish Caliphate and the Rising Jihadist Threat to the West,” The Center for Security Policy: 2018, pages 5-20 please see the link at bottom to see the article
Jul 151 min read
Can Islam Live in Peace with the West?
By Harold Rhode https://www.jewishpolicycenter.org/2026/07/07/can-islam-live-in-peace-with-the-west/ InFocus Summer, 2026 Pages 17-19 Peaceful coexistence between the Islamic and non-Muslim worlds is possible only under specific political and theological conditions. Current realities make such coexistence difficult. First, many Western observers misunderstand the conflict because they (naturally) interpret events through the lens of Western secular and post-modern assumption
Jul 89 min read
The Source of Iranian Negotiations Behavior
In light of what is happening between President Trump and Iran's rulers, I thought it would be useful to re-send a pamphlet I wrote many years ago on Iranian Negotiating Behavior. The stories/vignettes in this pamphlet demonstrate exactly how Iranians are experts in finding their opponents weaknesses and charming their opponents into getting exactly what they want. Beware!
Jun 241 min read
How Iran Is Trying To Usher In a Messianic Prophecy!
Harold Rhode interview
Jun 41 min read
Negotiation as War by Other Means: Why Iran Deals Fail Before They’re Signed
To understand what Tehran might sign, the West must negotiate as if it were sitting on the regime's side of the table. Dr. Dan Diker (Please see the paragraph below highlighted in blue ) (The White House) summary Iran views negotiations not as a path to permanent peace, but as a continuation of conflict through diplomatic means. The regime sees agreements as tactical pauses that preserve the broader struggle rather than resolve it. Iran’s strategic culture is shaped by the co
May 296 min read
Iran’s regime is being suffocated, from within and without
The hope is that a national institution, perhaps the army, can help preserve the country if the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps collapses. Reza Pahlavi, founder and leader of the self-styled National Council of Iran, an exiled opposition groupm in Tel Aviv, April 19, 2023. Photo by Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90. ( Apr. 27, 2026 / JNS ) What is going on in Iran? To understand it, we should not analyze every detail in isolation. We need to look at the general picture—where the pie
Apr 295 min read
