#iranbriefing/ A close ally of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has said that many young "hoodlums", some of whom might be convicted criminals, have been co-opted into the Basij militia and had played a significant role in suppressing street protests.
Ayatollah Ahmad Alamolhoda, prayer leader in Mashhad, Iran’s second largest city, and Khamenei’s representative in Razavi Khorasan Province, told a visiting group of parliament members on October 8 that the young men had undergone “cultural,” meaning religious, rehabilitation in joining local Basij groups. The cleric said they had played an important role in suppressing street protests, while combating poverty and deprivation in discharging their duties.
Iran experienced widespread unrest in 2017, 2018 and November 2019, when security forces, including the Basij, killed hundreds. Recently it was announced that the Basij would strengthen local units to improve ‘security.’
Hossein Hamednai, a Revolutionary Guards general killed in Syria in 2015, used the same tactic of recruiting detained criminals to suppress protests in Tehran following the 2009 disputed presidential elections.
Alamolhoda called on the parliamentarians to prevent “capitalists” from accumulating too much wealth and impoverishing people living in shantytowns. Alamolhoda, appointed by Khamenei as Mashhad Friday prayer leader in 2005 and a member of the Experts Assembly since 2007, is a powerful figure in the city and province, including in the oversight of the foundation managing the Imam Reza Shrine, whose businesses and property are valued in billions of dollars(link is external). Alamolhoda is also father-in-law of Ebrahim Raeesi, who headed the shrine before Khamenei appointed him as chief justice in 2019.
The ayatollah’s concern over poverty follows a dramatic economic downturn in the two years since the United States imposed draconian sanctions in 2018. The national currency, the rial, has lost most of its value while rising food prices are at hyperinflationary levels.
#iran #irannews #mashed #khamenei #basij #irgc
#Farsi🏳️
https://www.instagram.com/p/CGG9x_iqJui/?igshid=1113r93ggciqk
Ayatollah Ahmad Alamolhoda, prayer leader in Mashhad, Iran’s second largest city, and Khamenei’s representative in Razavi Khorasan Province, told a visiting group of parliament members on October 8 that the young men had undergone “cultural,” meaning religious, rehabilitation in joining local Basij groups. The cleric said they had played an important role in suppressing street protests, while combating poverty and deprivation in discharging their duties.
Iran experienced widespread unrest in 2017, 2018 and November 2019, when security forces, including the Basij, killed hundreds. Recently it was announced that the Basij would strengthen local units to improve ‘security.’
Hossein Hamednai, a Revolutionary Guards general killed in Syria in 2015, used the same tactic of recruiting detained criminals to suppress protests in Tehran following the 2009 disputed presidential elections.
Alamolhoda called on the parliamentarians to prevent “capitalists” from accumulating too much wealth and impoverishing people living in shantytowns. Alamolhoda, appointed by Khamenei as Mashhad Friday prayer leader in 2005 and a member of the Experts Assembly since 2007, is a powerful figure in the city and province, including in the oversight of the foundation managing the Imam Reza Shrine, whose businesses and property are valued in billions of dollars(link is external). Alamolhoda is also father-in-law of Ebrahim Raeesi, who headed the shrine before Khamenei appointed him as chief justice in 2019.
The ayatollah’s concern over poverty follows a dramatic economic downturn in the two years since the United States imposed draconian sanctions in 2018. The national currency, the rial, has lost most of its value while rising food prices are at hyperinflationary levels.
#iran #irannews #mashed #khamenei #basij #irgc
#Farsi🏳️
https://www.instagram.com/p/CGG9x_iqJui/?igshid=1113r93ggciqk
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Iran Briefing
#iranbriefing/ A close ally of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has said that many young "hoodlums", some of whom might be convicted criminals, have been co-opted into the Basij militia and had played a significant role in suppressing street protests. Ayatollah…