A two-month investigation by Guardian Films and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism reveals how hundreds of members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard are defecting - in protest at what they see as a 'betrayal' by the Iranian government
Showing posts with label revolutionary guards. Show all posts
Showing posts with label revolutionary guards. Show all posts
Friday, June 11, 2010
Former elite officers in Revolutionary Guard reveal increasing tensions in Iran regime
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2010/jun/11/iran-revolutionary-guard-defectors
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Tehran Bus Company drivers on strike on Labor Day - Iran 1 May 2010
by Julie Jigsawnovich
I don't know whether these workers are striking for higher pay or as a political protest against the regime. But even a strike for higher wages might have political dimensions that could relate to a form of resistance to the regime.
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8f_a99AQFw
Tehrani friends have told me that Sepah, the Revolutionary Guards, place people sympathetic to them at the top of most industries and businesses in Iran. Sepah seem to be increasingly interested in business and making money--and a labor strike could logically result in a reduction in profits for people at the top.
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8f_a99AQFw
Monday, April 19, 2010
Israel, Iran, Hizbullah and the NPT
by Julie Jigsawnovich
I think Sepah (Iran's Revolutionary Guards) and Hizbullah probably do want nuclear weapons simply for the prestige and fear they generate--if nothing else. But Israel having nuclear weapons certainly feeds that desire. And Israel's nuclear threat is used by Iran's regime in their effort to rally support.
Getting Israel to sign the non-proliferation treaty could erode what popular support remains in Iran for the brutality exhibited by Sepah and military Basij under Supreme Leader Khameini on behalf of alleged President Ahmadinejad. And since support for them also entails financial support for Hizbollah, Israel should recognize that joining the NPT could help erode financial and popular support for Hizbullah.
If this could also be explained to low income people in Iran who are benefiting from improvements and handouts from the Ahmadinejad administration, despite his mishandling of the economic issues--which has contributed to unemployment and inflation--and if the general public in Iran could see the Israeli bogeyman reduced so that less money seemed to be needed for defense, they might sigh a collective sigh of relief. Iranians have a lot of economic problems at home that need to be dealt with. Friends in Iran (including Muslims) have told me they would prefer that Iran's wealth benefit the citizens of Iran and their quality of life rather than be spent on Islamic hardline militants.
I think Sepah (Iran's Revolutionary Guards) and Hizbullah probably do want nuclear weapons simply for the prestige and fear they generate--if nothing else. But Israel having nuclear weapons certainly feeds that desire. And Israel's nuclear threat is used by Iran's regime in their effort to rally support.
Getting Israel to sign the non-proliferation treaty could erode what popular support remains in Iran for the brutality exhibited by Sepah and military Basij under Supreme Leader Khameini on behalf of alleged President Ahmadinejad. And since support for them also entails financial support for Hizbollah, Israel should recognize that joining the NPT could help erode financial and popular support for Hizbullah.
If this could also be explained to low income people in Iran who are benefiting from improvements and handouts from the Ahmadinejad administration, despite his mishandling of the economic issues--which has contributed to unemployment and inflation--and if the general public in Iran could see the Israeli bogeyman reduced so that less money seemed to be needed for defense, they might sigh a collective sigh of relief. Iranians have a lot of economic problems at home that need to be dealt with. Friends in Iran (including Muslims) have told me they would prefer that Iran's wealth benefit the citizens of Iran and their quality of life rather than be spent on Islamic hardline militants.
(I wrote this in response to Reza Aslan's "Stop Talking Down to Iran" in the Daily Beast.)
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Iran's Sepah--More Secular or Simply More Severe?
There are comments on this article as posted on Iranian.com. That site has an amazing number of page views per day. It's a great site, and a great community. http://www.iranian.com/main/blog/jigsawnovich/irans-sepah-more-secular-or-simply-more-severe
by Julie Jigsawnovich
Dictators may or may not be religious. There is speculation in the US about whether Iran's Revolutionary Guards, Sepah, will become less and less religious as they seize more and more control over businesses and industries in Iran. The following news story might reinforce this speculation. But does it really mean that Sepah is becoming more secular? And if they did become more secular, would this result in an easing up on laws supposedly based on religion in Iran? Would the great irony of brutal secular dictators granting more personal freedoms of expression--as long as they did not challenge the State--occur? Well, from what I've seen, don't hold your breath for that. Religion is a mighty power in Iran, and a useful one. Sepah may instead be simply positioning themselves to perpetrate an even more severe round of political repression, exceeding even that of the clerics.
Some of my Iranian friends are secular and some are devout Muslims. Those who are religious resent the regime's exploitation and corruption of Islam as a means to the end of brutal repression. Those who are secular deeply resent having religion and Sharia laws forced upon them, and would prefer a separation of religion and state. Within the context of awareness of their concerns, I read the following article with great interest.
www.ayandenews.com/news/14482/
via Tehran Bureau headlines
"IRGC Chief: Preserving regime more sacred than Islamic prayers
According to Sepah News, the official website of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Mohammad Ali Jafari, the commander of the Guards, in an IRGC meeting in the city of Urumiye on Wednesday, said "Preserving the Islamic Republic establishment is even more vital [a duty] than performing namaz" [Islamic daily prayers, the main pillar of Islam].
[This is the first time an IRGC commander appears to be issuing a religious edict. Some suggest it is a reformulation of an existing 1988 fatwa by Ayatollah Khomeini.]
'No one dares to claim that the Islamic Republic regime must be destroyed, and no one must dare to challenge the principles of this establishment,' Jafari added.29 Oct 2009"
by Julie Jigsawnovich
Dictators may or may not be religious. There is speculation in the US about whether Iran's Revolutionary Guards, Sepah, will become less and less religious as they seize more and more control over businesses and industries in Iran. The following news story might reinforce this speculation. But does it really mean that Sepah is becoming more secular? And if they did become more secular, would this result in an easing up on laws supposedly based on religion in Iran? Would the great irony of brutal secular dictators granting more personal freedoms of expression--as long as they did not challenge the State--occur? Well, from what I've seen, don't hold your breath for that. Religion is a mighty power in Iran, and a useful one. Sepah may instead be simply positioning themselves to perpetrate an even more severe round of political repression, exceeding even that of the clerics.
Some of my Iranian friends are secular and some are devout Muslims. Those who are religious resent the regime's exploitation and corruption of Islam as a means to the end of brutal repression. Those who are secular deeply resent having religion and Sharia laws forced upon them, and would prefer a separation of religion and state. Within the context of awareness of their concerns, I read the following article with great interest.
www.ayandenews.com/news/14482/
via Tehran Bureau headlines
"IRGC Chief: Preserving regime more sacred than Islamic prayers
According to Sepah News, the official website of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Mohammad Ali Jafari, the commander of the Guards, in an IRGC meeting in the city of Urumiye on Wednesday, said "Preserving the Islamic Republic establishment is even more vital [a duty] than performing namaz" [Islamic daily prayers, the main pillar of Islam].
[This is the first time an IRGC commander appears to be issuing a religious edict. Some suggest it is a reformulation of an existing 1988 fatwa by Ayatollah Khomeini.]
'No one dares to claim that the Islamic Republic regime must be destroyed, and no one must dare to challenge the principles of this establishment,' Jafari added.29 Oct 2009"
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Iran Seeks to Create Blood Refinery
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=107258§ionid=3510210
Iran is seeking to create a blood refinery, steeply accelerating blood product manufacturing. The Revolutionary Guards control the major industries in Iran. And they oversaw the arrest of a reported 4,000 protesters. Was all that plasma was donated voluntarily?
Iran is seeking to create a blood refinery, steeply accelerating blood product manufacturing. The Revolutionary Guards control the major industries in Iran. And they oversaw the arrest of a reported 4,000 protesters. Was all that plasma was donated voluntarily?
Monday, August 10, 2009
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