Looking at the IRGC as an occupying army (as distinct from and possibly opposed to Iran's actual army the—Artesh) helps clarify and guide potential tactics.
From The National Interest, April 29:
Permanent internet blackouts, child mobilization, and foreign militias have emerged as new features of the Islamic Republic’s crisis governance.
In the conversation about Iran’s future, it’s the dog that isn’t barking. More than two months into the US conflict with the Islamic Republic, Operation Epic Fury didn’t deliver the regime change in Tehran that many initially anticipated. While there are growing signs that the country has transitioned into something that, despite theocratic window-dressing, closely resembles a military dictatorship, it’s also apparent that Washington hasn’t achieved a fundamental change in its behavior—at least not yet.
All eyes are now understandably on the sporadic diplomatic contacts between Washington and Tehran, as well as the punishing economic effects of the US blockade, which is already reshaping Iran’s oil sector. But the internal political balance in Iran may prove even more decisive, as it will help determine whether the regime’s remaining leadership can maintain its grip on power.
Doing so is clearly preoccupying the new powers-that-be in Tehran. A recent meeting of the country’s Supreme National Security Council reportedly highlighted deepening anxiety among regime security agencies about the potential for renewed domestic unrest driven by economic hardship and political disaffection. In response, the Iranian regime has moved aggressively to reinforce its control through a number of parallel measures....
....MUCH MORE
During the street protests inn January the Associated Press reported NetBlocks estimate that the internet shutdown was costing Iran's economy, and thus its people, over $37 millionper day.
Related: the intro to and outro from April 7's "Iran’s supreme leader ‘unconscious and receiving treatment in Qom’".
