IRGC Commander: Short-sighted Individuals Fall for the Deceptive 'Reform' Slogan

The commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) stated that the Islamic Revolution has always faced internal challenges throughout history and described 'reform' as a 'deceptive slogan' that, according to him, 'a group of short-sighted individuals fall for.' According to Tasnim News Agency, Mohammad Ali Jafari emphasized the necessity of 'dynamism and vitality of the Islamic Revolution' during a meeting with a group called 'Basij Elites of Hamadan Province' on Wednesday, September 3. He noted that 'today the Islamic Revolution is stuck at such a juncture.' He identified the 'stuckness of the Islamic Revolution' as stemming from a 'dangerous thought' that he believes 'exists against the path of the revolution and has both aware and unaware supporters.' The IRGC commander traced the roots of this thought back to the reformist era during Mohammad Khatami's presidency and the six-day student protests in July 1999, stating: 'This scarf that is on the leader's shoulder is for fighting against such a dangerous thought that has been imposed since 1999, when it was said that the Islamic Revolution should be halted and... we should only solve the people's bread and water issues with a Western model.' Principlists and their military allies consider the reformist era as years of weakening 'Islamic values,' 'facilitating cultural infiltration,' and 'marginalizing revolutionary forces,' repeatedly accusing reformists of colluding with the West and foreigners. With the rise of Hassan Rouhani in 2013, attacks on the government's policies and programs from media and figures close to Iran's leader intensified, with references to the resolution of Iran's nuclear case under the 'JCPOA' as a prelude to Western political, cultural, and economic infiltration and 'overthrow.' In this context, Ali Saeedi, the representative of the Supreme Leader in the IRGC, described the goal of countries he referred to as 'enemies' as 'offering various approaches to overthrow.' According to Khabar Online, he stated on August 4 of this year: 'One day they will focus on sanctions and hard battles, and at some point, they will prioritize infiltration through interaction, and if they succeed in changing attitudes and behaviors through interaction, then overthrow will have occurred because changing behavior means deviating from principles and foundations.' Some IRGC commanders had previously stated that 'the enemy is currently paying significant costs for infiltration to sway a specific class of system officials toward itself.' In another part of his remarks on Wednesday, Mohammad Ali Jafari followed this line and accused reformist supporters of wanting to 'make reforms in the path of the revolution and declared that we must reach our own people.' He added: 'This reform slogan is a deceptive slogan that a group of short-sighted individuals fall for.' Officials of Hassan Rouhani's government in recent years have attributed economic problems and Western sanctions against Iran to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's eight-year presidency, claiming it led to 'looting,' 'squandering of public assets,' 'economic corruption,' and 'deterioration' of Iran's relations with other countries. The eleventh government declared its goal to be reforming the past situation, improving people's livelihoods, lifting international sanctions, establishing better relations with Iran's neighbors, and boosting production.