IRGC Commander: Many Officials Hold Western and Non-Revolutionary Views

The commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Iran described the existence of a "non-revolutionary viewpoint and thought" as the "main danger for the country" and stated that there are "Western, liberal, and non-revolutionary views among many officials" who take pride in their education at Western universities. According to Fars News Agency, Mohammad Ali Jafari, the IRGC commander, in a speech on Tuesday evening, March 14, identified the "main danger" for Iran as the "danger of non-revolutionary views and thoughts based on American Islam." He also considered the "main problem of the country" to be the "influence of deviant views opposing the revolution in some sectors" and added that supporters of these views are trying to "promote Western humanities and culture in universities day by day, which is concerning." The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic has repeatedly emphasized that the "spirit of revolutionary zeal" must be maintained among officials and politicians. Ayatollah Khamenei has also warned that "we must stand against the current within the system that does not accept revolutionary thought." In recent years, the Supreme Leader and his close associates have frequently warned about changes in the lifestyle of the Iranian people, identifying one of the areas contributing to these changes as "humanities" taught in schools and universities. Since 2009, Ayatollah Khamenei has called for a transformation in the curricula of humanities subjects in educational institutions, leading to significant changes in these fields in Iran. For instance, in December 2014, Gholamali Haddad Adel, as the head of the Council for the Transformation of Humanities, acknowledged that "the actions taken so far have not yielded the desired results," but following Ayatollah Khamenei's serious demand for transformation in humanities in 2009, a new movement in this area began. On Tuesday, the IRGC commander emphasized that "the Iranian Islamic model of progress must become a global example." He stated: "Today, there are Western, liberal, and non-revolutionary views among many officials in the administration of the country, who have been educated in Western universities or have studied Western subjects promoted in domestic universities and take pride in their degrees and titles." Although this high-ranking IRGC official did not name any specific officials in the Islamic Republic, his comments can be interpreted as a reference to Hassan Rouhani and some of his cabinet ministers, including Mohammad Javad Zarif and Ali Akbar Salehi, who studied in the United States, and Hassan Rouhani himself studied in Scotland. Jafari also mentioned that the Islamic Revolution is in the stage of "establishing an Islamic government" and will successfully pass through this stage with new growth and decline. The IRGC commander has previously spoken about the "realization of Islamic civilization" and the "formation of a global Islamic community." He stated on May 3, 2015, that "we are moving towards a great Islamic civilization," considering the status of the export of the Islamic Revolution outside Iran as "very favorable" and stating that the revolution "needs faster progress" within Iran. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, has also repeatedly emphasized the need for an "Islamic-Iranian model of progress." In this regard, since 2011, a center called the "Center for the Islamic-Iranian Model of Progress" has been established by Ayatollah Khamenei's decree, which has held four conferences on this topic so far.