Iranian opposition websites revealed yesterday (Sunday) details from a dramatic meeting between Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and senior officers of the Revolutionary Guards, in which he was presented with a harsh picture of the suppression of hijab protests throughout the country. Among other things, it was reported there about widespread trends of lack of motivation to serve, refusals of orders, the dropping out of thousands of servants in the Revolutionary Guards, and even the thwarting of an attempt by some officers to harm Khamenei himself.
According to the report, on the websites Iran Wire And “Iran International”, it is written that on January 3 there was a meeting between Khamenei and more than 50 officers, some of them very senior. Some of the officers who took part in the meeting explained that at least some of the fighters under their command refused to stand against the demonstrators in the various cities and refused orders to open fire on them. The commanders also warned Khamenei against a drop in morale among the troops and an escalation in clashes between commanders and officers of various ranks.
“According to reports, the Revolutionary Guards forces are not at the point where they were about a year ago, especially in regards to their motivation and morale, which are on a downward trend,” said Khamenei’s representative in the Revolutionary Guards during the meeting.
“We received information and data from several units in different places that reveal tensions among the ranks. We must manage it accordingly, it is important to understand that we are not talking about a few individual cases, but about a force of more than 600 thousand people.” It was also reported that many officers expressed opposition to the decisions and actions of Khamenei’s son, Mujtaba, who took an active part in leading the suppression of the demonstrations.
Some of the participants emphasized a trend of growing solidarity between the Revolutionary Guards fighters and the citizens, among other things against the background of the great economic distress among many Iranians. The commander of the Revolutionary Guards in the Alborz district revealed a case in which some of his men were arrested after delivering supplies and basic necessities to needy citizens in the city of Karaj. “The suspects are in custody, but we are not sure how to proceed.”
In the conversation, one of the senior commanders of the Basij militia in the Revolutionary Guards said that “over the course of the months, more than 5,000 members left the ranks of the organization.” Ghulam Ali Rashidi, commander of the “Hatem al-Anbia’a” organization, the largest financial company of the Revolutionary Guards, warned of a series of cases of refusal of orders among the fighters.
The most serious case, according to him, occurred when some fighters tried to harm Supreme Leader Khamenei himself. “During the last wave of protests, which began in September, we had three cases of refusal and attempted rebellion by loading cannons to attack targets in Tehran, one of which was the supreme leader’s office,” he said. “Thanks to the quick response of the members of that unit, the perpetrators were caught.” It is important to note that beyond the reports of the opposition elements in Iran – no additional verification was received.
on the site Iran Wire It was reported that that difficult conversation between the leader and the senior officers led to a series of concessions and benefits for the members of the Revolutionary Guards, as well as gestures towards the demonstrators themselves. Among other things, it was reported about an extensive increase of about 52% in the budget of the security forces in Iran, the granting of an exemption from gas, electricity, water and income tax payments to the Basij members, and the release of more than 20 thousand people who were arrested as part of the protests.
