IRGC Warning: 'Revolutionary Pretenders' Seek New Instigation

On Friday, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) issued a statement emphasizing the distinction between 'revolutionary activism' and 'revolutionary pretension,' warning that some are yearning for a 'new instigation.' The statement was released on the anniversary of the government rally on December 30, 2009, which was held in response to that year's electoral protests. In the statement, the IRGC referred to the events of 2009 in Iran as a 'sedition' and noted that eight years after those events and the rally, if there is 'negligence' in 'revisiting the lessons and admonitions of these significant and impactful events... one should expect the emergence of more complex plots and seditions against the Islamic system and homeland.' This military-security force defended the government rally of December 30, 2009, adding that the 'actions of the seditionists and the wicked intentions of their supporters' should be placed 'like a broken mirror every day before the doubters of this great and unforgettable crime and betrayal.' The IRGC also declared that providing an accurate and correct definition of 'revolutionary activism and its distinction from revolutionary pretension' is of 'importance' and accused 'revolutionary pretenders' of being in 'yearning for new instigations.' Although no specific group or individual was mentioned in the statement, it seems to refer to the actions of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and several officials from the ninth and tenth governments who have strongly opposed the judiciary. Their criticisms of Sadegh Larijani, the head of the judiciary appointed by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, have progressed to the extent that the Supreme Leader has also reacted. Khamenei, without mentioning Ahmadinejad and his team, stated: 'Those who have all the country's resources in their hands or have had them have no right to play the role of the opposition.' He added, 'Today they say this, and at night it gets a wide reflection on the BBC and American radio, they make the enemy happy.' The rally on December 30, 2009, was launched by the government to counter the scattered street protests against the results of that year's presidential election after six months of protests. While supporters of the Supreme Leader believe this rally was 'a nail in the coffin of the 2009 sedition,' they continue to recall the events of that year even eight years later. In December of this year, Ahmad Jannati, the head of the Assembly of Experts, stated that the roots of 'sedition' in Iran have not yet 'dried up' and that some 'new hypocrites' are still seeking to continue that movement. Sadegh Larijani, the head of the judiciary, also stated in December 2016: 'Some still criticize us for reopening the sedition case. In fact, this case is still open.'