Hassan Abbasi Sent to Prison Following Complaint from Iranian Army

Hassan Abbasi, the head of the "Doctrine Studies Center" and a military figure close to the conservatives, was arrested on Wednesday, August 4. According to the public relations office of the Armed Forces Judicial Organization, Gholam-Abbas Torki, the military prosecutor of Tehran, stated that during the second interrogation session with Hassan Abbasi, a bail was issued for him, but due to his refusal to provide bail, he was sent to detention. The military prosecutor of Tehran mentioned the charges against Hassan Abbasi as "spreading falsehoods and creating a climate of distrust towards the armed forces." Recently, an old video clip of Abbasi was circulated on the internet and social media, in which he defended the actions of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Basij, describing the army as a "silent force." In part of this one-minute clip, he addressed the United States, saying: "You want something like an army that is silent in the barracks, and if the water of this country (Iran) is taken away, their voices do not come out, and they do not take any position." These remarks provoked a strong reaction from the commander of the Iranian Army Ground Forces, who announced that this military force had filed a complaint against Hassan Abbasi. Ahmadreza Pourdastan had asked the head of the "Doctrine Studies Center" to apologize for his remarks as soon as possible. Iranian news agencies reported that Abbasi was summoned to the military prosecutor's office a few days later and was interrogated about his statements. He then apologized in a letter to the commander-in-chief of the Iranian Army for his comments. Abbasi, who is an official member of the IRGC, speaks at Basij and IRGC meetings. However, his remarks faced criticism from the IRGC spokesperson. Ramadan Sharif, the IRGC's public relations officer, pointed out that Hassan Abbasi's remarks were from July 2010, condemning any action that "weakens the army and the IRGC," stating that "the army and the IRGC are a united hand and an iron fist of the Iranian nation against what he calls the enemy." Masoud Jazayeri, deputy chief of staff of the armed forces, also warned that the Islamic Republic, according to him, would not allow anyone to insult the armed forces. Ali Motahari, the deputy speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, defended the Iranian army, stating that its non-involvement in politics and economics is its strength. In this context, the Iranian army filed a complaint against Hassan Abbasi due to his statements about this military force.