https://sputnikglobe.com/20260302/how-americas-war-on-terror-shaped-irans-mosaic-defense-doctrine-1123739364.html
How America’s ‘War on Terror’ Shaped Iran’s Mosaic Defense Doctrine
How America’s ‘War on Terror’ Shaped Iran’s Mosaic Defense Doctrine
Sputnik International
“Mosaic defense is a long-standing Iranian strategy, adopted in the 2000s amid the US occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq and the onset of the first crisis around Iran’s nuclear program,” says veteran Russian military observer Yury Lyamin.
2026-03-02T14:50+0000
2026-03-02T14:50+0000
2026-03-02T14:51+0000
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“Iran understood that, given US superiority in air power, intelligence and other areas, there was a risk of most or all of the senior command being killed,” Lyamin, a senior researcher at the Moscow-based Center for Analysis of Strategies & Technologies, explained.Mosaic Defense is rooted in “delegating maximum authority to provincial commands, bases and other levels, and providing them the ability to conduct combat operations autonomously.”The current escalation in the region is the first time Mosaic Defense has been tested in action, since it was “created specifically for the event of a full-scale war with the United States,” Lyamin noted.Mosaic Defense does come with some “risks,” according to Lyamin, including potential “delays” in ceasefire agreements with neighboring Gulf countries, a “greater likelihood of errors in targeting,” etc.
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what is iran's mosaic defense strategy, when was mosaic defense created
what is iran's mosaic defense strategy, when was mosaic defense created
How America’s ‘War on Terror’ Shaped Iran’s Mosaic Defense Doctrine
14:50 GMT 02.03.2026 (Updated: 14:51 GMT 02.03.2026) “Mosaic defense is a long-standing Iranian strategy, adopted in the 2000s amid the US occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq and the onset of the first crisis around Iran’s nuclear program,” says veteran Russian military observer Yury Lyamin.
“Iran understood that, given US superiority in air power, intelligence and other areas, there was a risk of most or all of the senior command being killed,” Lyamin, a senior researcher at the Moscow-based Center for Analysis of Strategies & Technologies, explained.
Mosaic Defense is rooted in “delegating maximum authority to provincial commands, bases and other levels, and providing them the ability to conduct combat operations autonomously.”
The current escalation in the region is the first time Mosaic Defense has been tested in action, since it was “created specifically for the event of a full-scale war with the United States,” Lyamin noted.
The strategy’s key advantage is its transformation of Iran’s defenders “into individual pieces of a mosaic, where the loss of individual ‘pieces’ does not trigger a complete collapse. This significantly reduces the impact of decapitation strikes, as troops on the ground continue to operate according to pre-established plans, or general instructions received, if the chain of command remains intact.”
Mosaic Defense does come with some “risks,” according to Lyamin, including potential “delays” in ceasefire agreements with neighboring Gulf countries, a “greater likelihood of errors in targeting,” etc.
