A Military Coup by the IRGC is Not a Problem, It Won't Go Far

Mohsen Rezaei left the IRGC to become president through political activity. However, each time he ran for president or parliament, the people rejected him with their votes. Faced with such harsh realities, this delusional individual returned to the IRGC, perhaps hoping to achieve higher levels of power this way. We have previously published articles about his delusions and flattery (for example, refer to articles like 'Khamenei's Lackeys', 'War: The IRGC Coup, Attacking Ayatollah Montazeri's Stronghold and the Leaders of the Sedition', 'The Coup of the Delusional IRGC Commanders', 'Mohsen Rezaei; A Symbol of the Flattery of the Theocratic System'). He has recounted at least twice an important memory in which Ayatollah Montazeri warned Ayatollah Khomeini about the danger of an IRGC coup. On July 13, 2010, Rezaei told the IRGC intelligence unit officials from 1981 to 1983: 'Mr. Montazeri went to Imam and told him, you should not support the IRGC so much. The Imam replied, why do you say that? Mr. Montazeri said, they might stage a coup... Mr. Montazeri tells the Imam that you are supporting the IRGC so much, tomorrow they might stage a coup. The Imam told Mr. Montazeri, well, what’s the problem? They are our children, they won't go far! A few days later, Ahmad Agha told me, I had just returned from the front. In fact, Ahmad Agha wanted to say how much the Imam trusts you and loves you. He told me: Yesterday, Mr. Montazeri came and said such a thing. The Imam responded to him this way.' In October 2014, Rezaei said on the Islamic Republic's television: 'In 1984, after the Kheibar operation, at the end of 1982 and the beginning of 1983, one of our friends went to one of the Friday prayer leaders in the country, he came out and said to him, do you think we don't know what you are after? Now in the middle of the fighting and clashes, he says, Haj Agha, what are we after? He says, well, you are after making Mohsen Rezaei president, you must step over our blood. Mr. Montazeri went to Imam and told him, why do you defend the IRGC commanders so much? The Imam said, why shouldn't I defend them? Mr. Montazeri said, well, they might stage a coup. The Imam looked at him for a moment, then said, well, since they are our children, they won't go far. He had hit the stronghold of Mr. Montazeri.' Mohsen Rezaei published his private remarks from 2010 on his website on January 29, 2016, titled 'What was the story of transferring IRGC information to the Ministry of Intelligence? Delivering the soup with its base!' The far-right website Rajanews republished the same on April 28, 2016, titled 'We delivered the soup with its base!/ Mr. Montazeri said in 1981 that the IRGC might stage a coup', which is very noteworthy. The repetition of this memory and the lack of reaction to it can be criticized and analyzed from various perspectives: First - Mohsen Rezaei's lying: The claim that a military coup by the IRGC is not a problem fundamentally contradicts Ayatollah Khomeini's will. In the end of his will on February 15, 1983, Ayatollah Khomeini writes: 'Now that I am present, some unrealistic accusations are being made against me, and it may increase after me; therefore, I say that whatever is attributed to me or is being said is not confirmed, unless it is my voice or signature, confirmed by experts; or I have said something on the Islamic Republic's television.' Rezaei's false claim does not conform to any of these instances. He attributes his lie to Ahmad Khomeini, who is also deceased. Second - Ayatollah Khomeini's strong opposition to the IRGC's involvement in political affairs: Ayatollah Khomeini was against military personnel's political activities and their interference in political matters. He announced this point many times and even wrote in his will: 'My emphatic will to the armed forces is that just as the regulations of the military prohibit military personnel from entering parties and groups, they should adhere to it; and the armed forces, whether military, police, IRGC, Basij, or others, should not enter any party or group and keep themselves away from political games. In this case, they can preserve their military power and be immune from internal group conflicts. And commanders must prevent their subordinates from entering parties. Since the revolution belongs to all the people and its preservation is the duty of all, the government, the people, the defense council, and the Islamic Consultative Assembly have a religious and national duty that if the armed forces, whether commanders and higher ranks or lower ranks, want to act against the interests of Islam and the country or enter parties that will undoubtedly lead to destruction, or enter political games, they should oppose it from the very first step. And it is the leader and the leadership council's responsibility to decisively prevent this matter so that the country is safe from harm.' Ayatollah Khomeini explicitly stated that the IRGC should stay away from political disputes, political directions, political affairs, etc. He explicitly said that elections and parliament have nothing to do with you. See three examples below: 'Everyone in the world is looking for their army to stay away from political affairs; they understand something that they say this; we want the IRGC and the army to be the groups of God and not to have any divisions and to set aside political directions so that if political directions and political disputes enter the IRGC and the army, we must read the funeral prayer for this IRGC and army.' (Sahifeh Imam, Vol. 19, p. 11). 'What does it matter to you what is happening in the parliament? I was also informed that there is talk among the IRGC members regarding the elections, well, the elections are happening in their own place, there is a process, what does it matter to the IRGC that they also have disagreements, it is not permissible for the IRGC, it is not permissible for the army.' (Sahifeh Imam, Vol. 19, p. 12). 'You must try to keep political directions out of the IRGC, because if political thoughts enter the IRGC, its military directions will be lost.' (Sahifeh Imam, Vol. 18, p. 45). Would such a person with such thoughts approve of a military coup by the IRGC, and his argument would be that they are our children and won't go far? It is clear that Mohsen Rezaei is lying. Third - The political failure of the people: Mohsen Rezaei left the IRGC and entered political activity to become president. After these electoral failures, he put on the uniform of a general again and returned to the IRGC. It seems he has completely lost hope of gaining votes through elections and is looking to test other ways. Of course, he personally considers his return to the IRGC as a concern for 'preserving the regime's power and national security.' He is now pursuing political activity in military attire and threatening political groups and rivals. On April 28, 2016, at a ceremony commemorating the anniversary of the Bazi Daraz operation, he defended the necessity of the IRGC's presence in all arenas and said: 'In any dimension where the achievements of the revolution are threatened, we must act. The IRGC and Basij will not remain silent against any faction or individual who breaks the law and engages in wrongdoing and causes insecurity, and will not allow anyone or any faction, whether from the left or the right, to pass through political competitions and enter the phase of overthrowing the regime. We are not factional guardians; we are revolutionary and consider ourselves guardians of the revolution. Anyone and any faction that enters the overthrow of the regime or engages in anti-revolutionary activities, the guardians and Basijis will stop them... Groups, personalities, and politicians should criticize each other and critique each other within the framework of the law, but should not enter the realm of overthrowing the regime. Every individual and every faction must comply. If some want to infiltrate in security or economic matters and open the door to colonialism and America, the guardians of the revolution will not remain silent.' These threatening words come from a military commander. Such threatening statements are made daily by IRGC members. For example, see two examples below: Hamid Reza Moghadamfar - media advisor to the IRGC commander - said on April 27, 2016: 'Those who were part of the 2009 sedition are now present in some decision-making and major responsibilities of the country, and this means political infiltration.' He also considered graduates of Western universities as infiltrators whose intellectual roots are formed in the West. Ali Saeedi - representative of the Supreme Leader in the IRGC - said on May 1, 2016: 'Today, some of our turbaned individuals think that some problems can be solved by resorting to Western secularism... What reason is there in the era of our Supreme Leader to witness people's misunderstanding of religion? Misunderstanding that has manifested in three circles: the officials, reformists, and the Kian and Niawaran circle.' Fourth - Revenge for consecutive defeats and normalizing the IRGC coup: The movement that began with Hassan Rouhani's election as president in 2013 and continued with the nuclear agreement was pursued by the people's protest vote and the elimination of the 'Triangle Jim' in the Assembly of Experts elections and the formation of a 'moderate' parliament through the elimination of hardline conservatives. Ayatollah Khamenei has shown that he always reacts to defeats with revenge and confrontation. He has explicitly stated that we have not yet been able to form an Islamic government, and now is the time to form an Islamic government (refer to the article 'Khamenei and the Impossible Desire to Islamicize the Government, Society, and Civilization'). Ayatollah Khamenei is facing numerous issues. The election of the leadership council of the Assembly of Experts on May 25, determining his successor at a time when the executive and legislative branches are not in the hands of hardline conservatives, the plan to 'domesticate' the nuclear agreement by Rouhani/moderates/reformists, the demand for lifting the house arrest, the demand for establishing relations with America and improving relations with regional countries, etc. Ayatollah Khamenei is in dire need of the IRGC and Basij to solve these issues and other major problems. The military now also has a widespread presence in the political and economic realm, an inappropriate presence that began with the revolution and the war (refer to the article 'Iran-Iraq War: A Tool of Power and Wealth'). However, it is likely that in the unpredictable future, their intervention will be needed even more. The claim that a military coup by the IRGC is not a problem, with the ridiculous justification that they won't go far because they are our children, is being propagated by General Mohsen Rezaei in media such as the Islamic Republic's television and other outlets to normalize public opinion. The people and political forces are being told that 'Imam Khomeini said' that if the IRGC stages a coup, it is not only not bad, but good. They are our children. Aren't they 'our smuggler brothers' who are systematically involved in major smuggling and corruption? Even if they stage a military coup, they become 'our coup brothers.' The silence of political forces in the face of these grand fabrications by Mohsen Rezaei is incomprehensible and unjustifiable. This lie is not a small lie that can be ignored. The danger is a great danger, even if its probability is low, especially since the IRGC members are daily threatening and arresting people. A wise person does not remain silent in the face of great and lethal dangers. When lethal dangers are being constructed based on big lies, democracy advocates and human rights defenders should not remain silent. The military must completely leave the political and economic arenas and return to their professional duties of protecting the country's national borders, not create a mental groundwork for a coup through fabrications. This lie must be taken seriously and confronted.