Deputy Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces: The Enemy Seeks Proxy Wars Inside the Country

Brigadier General Mustafa Izadi, a senior official of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Iran, has claimed that "enemies" are seeking to create proxy wars "within the country" and are trying to undermine national unity through soft warfare. These remarks were reported by the Tasnim news agency, close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, on Tuesday, October 5. The statements emphasized that the "confrontation of enemies" with the Islamic Republic has continued since the revolution and that today its dimensions have expanded, with enemies attempting to challenge the revolution further. He expressed confidence that they would not succeed in this goal. Brigadier General Izadi, who is the Deputy for Intelligence and Strategic Affairs of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, also stated that "one of the current goals of the enemies is to create proxy wars inside the country and that they are trying to undermine our national unity, destroy people's beliefs, and question the achievements of the revolution." According to some experts, the regional competition between Iran and Saudi Arabia includes various aspects such as differing policies in the oil market and has turned into a proxy war between the two countries in the context of the conflicts in Yemen and Syria. The issue of proxy wars outside the country's borders has been reflected in the statements of some Iranian military officials, including Major General Ahmad Reza Pourdastan, the commander of the Army Ground Forces, who stated in April this year that Iran is facing "a new atmosphere of proxy wars" in Syria and that the "field duty" of Iranian military forces is to identify these threats. In August of this year, following changes in the leadership of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, this staff announced in a statement that it would not leave the military needs of the "Islamic Resistance Front" in the field of proxy and terrorist wars in Iraq and Syria unanswered. Previously, some Iranian military and security officials had reported on the determination of some regional countries, particularly Saudi Arabia, to create insecurity at Iran's borders. In this context, Mohammad Hossein Baqeri, the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, also stated that enemies are trying to "extend regional unrest to Iran." However, Brigadier General Izadi's remarks may be the first indications of the expansion of "proxy wars" into Iran's borders. Last March, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps described the "main danger" facing the Islamic revolution as "internal enemy factors," stating that these "internal factors" are groups opposing the principle of Velayat-e Faqih. Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari claimed at that time that "soft warfare" against the Iranian government has "intensified" and that "the enemy is trying to strike the system through its infiltration." Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, has repeatedly accused "the enemy," primarily the United States, of plotting against Iran and the Islamic revolution, and in recent months, especially after the nuclear agreement, he has warned more than ever about what he calls the enemy's attempts to "infiltrate" Iran. This issue has since been frequently used by supporters and appointees of the leader of the Islamic Republic.