Advisor to the Commander of the IRGC: We Will Have Two Major Turmoil in 1398

One of the advisors to the Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned about the "turmoils" expected in the upcoming Persian year due to the parliamentary elections and labor protests in Iran. Previously, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, had warned that everyone should be aware of America's "deception" and that "they may have drawn up plans for 1398." Ali Mohammad Naeini, speaking on the anniversary of the government protests on 9th of Dey against the 2009 presidential election results in Ilam, predicted that there would be "two major turmoils" in Iran in 1398. He stated: "Next year we have parliamentary elections, which should be said to serve as a catalyst for civil disobedience. On the other hand, the 'enemies' have focused on economic pressures in the labor and occupational sectors." His reference is to the protests of various occupational groups, including teachers and workers in Iran, who have repeatedly gathered and held sit-ins in various cities this year due to their poor living conditions. The leader of the Islamic Republic had also accused the 'enemies' during the continuation of labor protests in Iran in Esfand 1396, claiming that they were trying to create a "recession or paralysis among workers or force them to do so." Khamenei, without mentioning the labor movements in various regions of Iran protesting against unpaid wages and insurance rights for a long time, layoffs, or poverty wages, and the security and judicial actions against labor activists and organizations in recent years, added that "workers have always resisted over the years, always stood firm, and have always rejected the enemy's hand with insight." According to ISNA news agency, the IRGC advisor stated that because the "enemies" believe that "their infiltration network in the country remains untouched and the Iranian people have turned away from the revolution," they have "invested" in cyberspace. Mr. Naeini described cyberspace as a "space for calls and the destruction of fundamental beliefs" that has "destructive and devastating effects on creating unrest." Another report indicates that Ahmad Khatami, the interim Friday prayer leader of Tehran, claimed that "the 2009 seditionists have plans for the 1400 elections and are seeking to incite sedition with disruptive slogans." He, speaking on the anniversary of the 9th of Dey in Karaj, added without going into details that "the 2009 seditionists want to revive themselves based on certain conditions, and the destruction of the Guardian Council under titles like 'supervisory oversight' has already begun." This hardline cleric addressed those who, according to him, "have closed their eyes to the truths," stating: "With the motivation to keep the sedition current, they cannot forget the sedition of the seditionists, as they have become so ingrained in the minds of the people that they will remain in the memories of future generations." He also commented on the house arrest of Mehdi Karroubi, Mir Hossein Mousavi, and Zahra Rahnavard, stating: "The key to lifting the house arrest is only repentance before the people; otherwise, there is no other way, and some will bury the system's Nelson Mandela." Tasnim news agency also reported that Ali Fazli, the commander of the Imam Hussein University of Military Sciences and Training, stated in Isfahan that "everyone should be alert, and we must be awake; they may create a commotion, and their main plan may be for 1398." This IRGC commander advised the youth not to give the enemy any leeway and referred to the protests of Dey 1396, stating that in that year "they created sedition under the pretext of rising prices and inflation; this is a reality, but the people confronted and faced them." Islamic Republic officials attribute the protests of Dey 1396 to the "enemies" and, similar to the events following the 2009 presidential election, refer to it as "sedition." In the protests of Dey 1396, which reportedly occurred in over 100 cities in Iran and were accompanied by violence from security forces, protesters shouted slogans against both reformist and principlist factions and the leadership. More than 20 people were killed in these protests, and thousands were arrested. According to government officials, these protests were initiated by principlists in Mashhad under the title "No to Inflation," but they went out of control and turned into anti-government slogans, including support for the Pahlavi regime and regret over the 1979 revolution.