Every year, the Islamic Republic of Iran mobilizes the government for a campaign to purify and glorify the oppressive Basij paramilitary militia forces in Iran. An institution that in any incident and at any time, outside the legal and moral framework, acts violently against any form of public demonstration.
The Basij follows only the direct orders of Iran’s supreme leader, is one of the five forces of Iran’s terrorist designated Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) forces, and is naturally designated as a terrorist organization by Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the U.S. as it has been actively involved in violent oppression of civilians, harassing citizens, money laundry and drug trafficking.
Khamenei describes Basij as “the greatest hope of the Iranian nation” and “an immaculate tree”. Iran’s Speaker of Parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf recently stated that “the Basij is a crystallization of all people that shall embrace everyone.”
But this does not change the reality that the Basij evidently has the blood of Iranian citizens on its hand after killing thousands of unarmed civilians during the 1999, 2009, 2017, and 2019 protests.
Hekmat Ali Mozaffari, the head of the Administrative Court of Justice, also said that the Basij is a way of life, and if this thinking dominates life, most of the “problems can” be overcome.
In the eyes of Ali Mozaffari and the Islamic Republic, the Basij, without any hesitation and accountability, is destroying the “problems” and obstacles of the regime, which are protests against inflation and demands for human rights, in the streets.
Members of Basij are more likely than non-members to obtain government positions, especially security-related positions within government-controlled institutions. Benefits for members of the Basij reportedly include exemption from the 21 months of military service required for Iranian men, reserved spots in universities, and a small stipend.
The Islamic Republic invests hundreds of millions of dollars annually into the terrorist Basij forces in order to rule over the Iranian people with an iron fist.