The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has deployed a military architecture that the United States failed to account for - a decentralized system known as the "mosaic force," in which regional commanders operate independently of any central command, George Friedman, founder of Geopolitical Futures, has explained. This structure has allowed the IRGC to absorb the destruction of Iran's civilian government and continue fighting, as reported by "Hvylya".
Friedman described the concept in a Geopolitical Futures podcast. "They have something called the mosaic force, a force in which different areas are able to operate outside the command of the center," he said. "They are decentralized and therefore much more difficult to destroy."
This design has directly undermined the US strategy of precision strikes against leadership targets. Washington's opening salvo successfully eliminated the prime minister and senior civilian officials, but these were not the people who controlled Iran's military or economic apparatus. The IRGC, with its distributed command structure, simply continued operations - launching retaliatory strikes and maintaining the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
The IRGC is not merely a military organization. Friedman emphasized that it holds deep economic and internal security power across the country. "In a certain very real way, this was the real regime in place. Is the real regime in place," he said. Destroying it from the air alone would require neutralizing forces that are scattered across Iran's vast territory - an objective Friedman called "very difficult" though "not impossible."
The White House has claimed significant degradation of Iranian military capability, pointing to a decline in the number of retaliatory strikes. Friedman offered two possible explanations: the IRGC could be running out of weapons, or it could be deliberately holding them in reserve. The distinction matters enormously for what comes next, and Friedman admitted he does not know which interpretation is correct.
Also read: "This Is the Final Battle": Iran Expert Reveals Why Tehran Refuses to Capitulate.