Bijan smiled. “Excellent points, Captain. Please be sure to include them in your report.”
Finally, the Safir pulled back up at Dabiri’s mobile command post, and they sat back on either side of the folding table where Dabiri would draft his preliminary report.
“Just one question before I let you get to your report, Captain. How long would it take you and your men to pack the howitzers used in today’s exercises for transport?”
Dabiri’s eyebrows flew upwards and he hesitated, which surprised Bijan, who had expected a quick answer. The reason quickly became evident, though.
“It depends on whether you want these particular howitzers, sir. We actually have twenty new HM-41s still in their original crates we could move anytime, along with a full supply of Basir rounds to go with them. I’d rather use the howitzers from today’s exercise, though, since we’ve used them multiple times and know they have no issues. We could have them ready to go inside a week, or five days if we drop everything else we’re doing.”
Bijan smiled. “I think a week will be fine. I suggest you assemble and test another ten HM-41s while I clear your orders, and then crate them back up for movement. I’m glad to hear you have spares in case there are any issues discovered with those ten. Expect your new orders within a week to ten days.”
Bijan climbed aboard the Agusta-Bell 212 helicopter that had brought him from his office in Qom to the exercise area for the return trip. He would have the report Grand Ayatollah Reza Fagheh expected. Bijan also planned to add some questions, now that this operation appeared more and more likely to actually be possible.
Grand Ayatollah Reza Fagheh scowled as he read another report on the damage American sanctions were doing to the Iranian economy. Of course, he mused, a much longer report could be written on the problems caused by corruption, price controls, subsidies and a long list of other government interventions.
Not to mention that about sixty percent of Iran’s economy was centrally planned. Reza smiled grimly as he thought about one comment he had heard about on social media that the proportion of Iran’s economy controlled by the government was greater than China’s. This had set off a lively debate about whether anyone could really know who controlled what in China, and how its control of the economy explained why Iran’s clergy was so resistant to change.
Of course, the author of the most perceptive comments quickly found himself in Tehran’s Evin Prison. Reza made a mental note to check whether he was still alive, and if he was to put him out of his misery.
Reza smiled again as he thought about the religious foundations called Bonyad, which represented more than thirty percent of Iranian government spending. He effectively controlled one of those Bonyads, though his name appeared on none of its documents. Yes, the poor fellow in Evin Prison had no idea how right he was.
Not that Reza planned to change anything about how Iran’s economy was managed. Though he was aware of the role that both the clergy and the government played in Iran’s economic problems, fixing them was impossible without the clergy ceding its control of Iran’s government. On the contrary, Reza wanted that control tightened.
Reza only cared about the performance of Iran’s economy at all because its failure had begun to cause demonstrations that were too large to ignore or easily suppress. He had been part of the demonstrations that had brought down the Shah, and knew first hand that the effectiveness of violent repression had a limit.
The effectiveness of blaming all of Iran’s economic problems on American sanctions also had a limit, as the size of the recent demonstrations showed.
Reza had ordered the report to see if there was anything new the government could use to point the finger at the Americans again, but now that he’d read it had seen nothing likely to help.
People were fed up. With its oil and gas reserves Iran had the fifth largest total value of natural resources in the world, worth an estimated twenty-seven trillion US dollars. This was not a secret to anyone.
And yet, a study by the International Monetary Fund in 2016 detailing what Iran’s citizens could buy in their country ranked it… 67th.
Many were starting to ask dangerous questions about the clergy’s share of the country’s wealth. Others were starting to ask about the money being spent on Iran’s interventions in Yemen, Syria, and Lebanon — and whether spending the money at home instead might help stop the seemingly endless sanctions.
Reza was determined to provide a different answer to Iran’s economic problems. He smiled as he thought back to an economics lecture he had attended decades earlier, where the professor had said that if you didn’t want to share the pie differently, bake a bigger pie.
Reza’s smile grew even wider as he thought about his pie’s prime ingredient. Then, his pleasant imaginings were interrupted by reality, in the form of a knock announcing Guardian Colonel Bijan Turani‘s arrival for his scheduled briefing.
“So, Colonel, I understand the exercise was a success,” Reza observed, waving Bijan to the seat across from his desk.
Bijan nodded. “Frankly, it succeeded beyond all my expectations. I’m beginning to think this plan may work after all.”
Reza smiled thinly. “Yes, I remember your objections. I’m glad to see you coming around. I understand one soldier was injured?”
Bijan frowned. “Yes, but not seriously. I plan to get improved laser designators for the troops in this mission to avoid more casualties like his, caused by his being too close to the target. In fact, I already have orders en route to our purchasing agents in the US.”
Reza’s eyebrows flew upwards. “America! Are you sure we can get them here in time, and without detection?”
Bijan grinned. “This is hardly the first time we have needed a rush shipment of American military equipment. I placed the orders yesterday, via free two-day air shipping. Once our purchasing agents in the US receive them, they will fly with them as checked baggage through a variety of routings. The Americans and Europeans will scan their baggage for explosives, but nothing else. Even if the bags are opened, security screeners will find only legally purchased civilian laser designators.”
Reza frowned. “Civilian? Won’t they be weak and useless to our soldiers?”
Now Bijan’s grin grew wider. “On the contrary, the American soldiers who thoughtfully reviewed them said they were comparable to the ones they had used in the military.”
Reza shook his head. “This makes no sense. Isn’t such equipment restricted, and ridiculously expensive? How could you make these purchases without my authorization?”
Bijan shrugged. “The price of well under two thousand dollars each fell well within my spending authority, and in fact they were even on sale! As for restriction, the website did say that they could be sold only to US citizens, and were not for export. So, on the online order form I did have to… check a box.”
When he saw Reza’s expression in response, Bijan couldn’t restrain his laughter. After a few seconds, Bijan was astonished to hear Reza join him.
He had honestly never imagined the dour cleric capable of laughter.
After a few moments their laughter wound down and Bijan asked the question that had been troubling him during the entire trip back from the exercise.
“If we get all the pieces in place in time, the first phase of the plan may be successful. But even so, do you really believe the Saudis can be defeated with the limited forces we have available? It may take time for them to move the forces they have in Yemen, and I have some ideas for how we can slow that redeployment down. But make no mistake- most of their troops and armor will be back to fight us far sooner than we’d like. Of course, the aircraft now in Yemen will be back within hours.”