Jafari: Some Inside Are Collaborating with the Enemy to Weaken Defense Capabilities

Mohammad Ali Jafari, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), on Sunday, August 13, accused certain political groups in Iran of collaborating with the 'enemy' to 'weaken' the armed forces without providing evidence or details. Meanwhile, his deputy referred to some political groups as 'echoes of foreign voices.' According to Tasnim News Agency, Jafari stated that 'enemies' intend to weaken the armed forces of the Islamic Republic through defense and missile sanctions following the Vienna nuclear agreement. He added, 'Unfortunately, some inside occasionally fall for the promises and pledges of the enemies and do not pay attention to the depth of this conspiracy and the enemies' planning to weaken defensive capabilities, and there are also collaborations.' Concurrently, Hossein Salami, the deputy commander of the IRGC, said on a television program that 'some political currents are either intentionally or unknowingly echoing foreign voices' and 'are weakening the IRGC in a state of war.' These two IRGC commanders did not provide details or evidence for their claims. Previously, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, head of the Assembly of Experts and Secretary of the Guardian Council, described criticisms of the IRGC as 'implementing U.S. policies' regarding this military institution. According to ISNA news agency, on July 27, he stated that the IRGC should not be 'attacked in the name of being gunmen' and that 'U.S. policies should not be implemented.' Jannati added, 'They want to go to war with the leadership, but since they cannot confront the leadership, they mention the IRGC.' These remarks from the head of the Assembly of Experts and Secretary of the Guardian Council came at a time when Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, indirectly criticized the activities of the IRGC on June 22, stating that part of Iran's economy is in the hands of a 'government' that 'has both guns and media' and 'no one dares to compete with them.' In recent months, following the implementation of the JCPOA, missile tests by the IRGC have drawn protests from Western countries and the United Nations, leading to the addition of several individuals and entities to related sanctions. After the nuclear agreement, the IRGC unveiled two underground missile depots referred to as a 'missile city.' On May 4, Rouhani stated in the second presidential debate that 'some showed images of underground cities to undermine the JCPOA, wrote slogans on missiles to undermine the JCPOA, but our people have passed all of this.' Meanwhile, Ali Motahari, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, also stated in an interview with 'Asr Iran' on January 14 that 'extremist actions' such as 'attempting to prevent the JCPOA from being implemented through missile launches,' 'provoking the enemy to impose economic sanctions,' 'creating human rights pretexts for the enemy,' and 'labeling every protester as a seditionist' have harmed the Islamic Republic. Two days later, Ramadan Sharif, the spokesperson for the IRGC, called Motahari's remarks 'offensive,' 'ill-considered,' and 'an echo of the enemies' voices.' Motahari then clarified that his remarks did not deny the necessity of strengthening Iran's missile industries, 'but timely show of power is important.' He said, 'If we are crossing a difficult pass in the early months of the JCPOA's implementation, let us postpone this show of power with that phrase inscribed on the missile to later, just as in previous years it would have been better to discuss the Holocaust issue, which we believe has been exaggerated with the aim of occupying Palestine, in a different way and at its proper time.' The remarks of these IRGC commanders come amid ongoing verbal clashes between IRGC officials and Hassan Rouhani regarding various issues, including the economic activities of the IRGC. In this context, Rouhani met with the IRGC commander and four senior commanders on July 24, but the Iranian presidential office did not mention any details of the discussions in a brief news release. Gholamhossein Ghaibparvar, the commander of the Basij, stated that this meeting was not a 'protest' and was held in a 'friendly' atmosphere. Concurrently with the IRGC commander's remarks, Ali Saeedi, the representative of the Supreme Leader in the IRGC, also stated, 'In the governments of the Executives and Reformists, Bazargan's (the Prime Minister of the provisional government and Secretary-General of the Freedom Movement) ideas were developed under the cloak of some gentlemen, and this current tried to steer the Islamic Revolution towards liberalism to the point that they caused the 2009 sedition.' The Supreme Leader and his close associates refer to the protests against the 2009 presidential election as 'sedition.' On June 3, Saeedi also implicitly referred to Rouhani and his associates as the 'Niyavaran circle' and stated that pursuing the idea of 'peaceful coexistence with the West' in Iran is the result of this group's activities. Previously, close associates of the Supreme Leader accused Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Mohammad Khatami of promoting 'liberalism' and 'Western lifestyles' during their presidencies. These accusations have been denied by supporters of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Mohammad Khatami.