Military Unit Established for the Protection of Islamic Republic Officials

In 1999, a report circulated in political circles that one of Mohammad Khatami's bodyguards had approached several religious authorities, stating that if they issued a fatwa, he was willing to assassinate the president. However, these religious authorities reported him to the Qom Intelligence Department, leading to his arrest. For two years, no news emerged about this individual until he approached several newspapers, revealing that after a period of detention, he was dismissed from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) without any severance and that his records had been erased, as if he had never worked there for 11 years. He claimed to have been a member of the Khorramabad IRGC and that the commanders were aware of his extremist tendencies but had nonetheless approved his joining the Ansar al-Mahdi Protection Corps. Aside from a few such cases, there has been little news about the Ansar al-Mahdi Protection Corps, which is responsible for the protection of officials and specific locations of the Islamic Republic, over the past 30 years. However, the attack on the Iranian Parliament and the tomb of Ayatollah Khomeini brought this unit into the spotlight. The Ansar al-Mahdi Protection Corps was formed in the early 1980s to protect Islamic Republic officials. Initially, the Revolutionary Committees were responsible for the protection of some officials. After some time, it was agreed that the IRGC would take charge of protecting so-called first-class officials, while the police would protect third-class and occasionally second-class officials. Some first-class officials, including Mehdi Karroubi, have occasionally preferred their bodyguards to be police officers. The protection of Ayatollah Khamenei is handled by a separate organization called the 'Sepah Valy-e Amr.' This corps and the Ansar al-Mahdi Protection Corps were previously referred to as divisions, but after the divisions of the IRGC were transformed into provincial forces, the name of these divisions was also changed to corps. Since the early years of the revolution, the protection of the Supreme Leader has been managed by a separate organization, with Sadegh Mousavi, a member of Ayatollah Khomeini's office, holding this position among others. The number of bodyguards for Islamic Republic officials is usually determined based on resolutions from committees in the Supreme National Security Council. Alongside the president, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani had the most bodyguards and security ranking. Besides the first vice president, ministers such as those of intelligence, interior, and foreign affairs have more bodyguards compared to other ministers. Ministers of intelligence, interior, and foreign affairs also retain bodyguards after their term. Other ministers typically have three or four bodyguards, one of whom is referred to as the 'team leader' and commands the other forces. These bodyguards usually operate in 24-hour shifts. In addition to the heads of the judiciary and parliament, many officials in the judiciary, including prosecutors and some judges of the revolutionary court, also have protection teams. The children of some officials, including the heads of the branches, the first vice president, or the deputies of the judiciary, also have bodyguards. In some periods, based on protection protocols, the children of senior officials could also be part of their protection team. Some prominent members of parliament also have bodyguards. In most parliamentary terms, representatives could have two companions, one of whom is the office manager and the other is the bodyguard. However, the bodyguards of parliament representatives are mostly their acquaintances, who may be serving in the military or working as temporary employees, with their salaries paid by the parliament. Parliament representatives are also allowed to carry weapons, and if they wish, they can receive weapons from the IRGC. Besides officials who have permanent bodyguards, some political figures may have bodyguards at certain times. For instance, after reports by Emadeddin Baghi and Akbar Ganji regarding the chain murders, they had bodyguards for a while in the late 1990s. Most members of the Ansar al-Mahdi Protection Corps became members of this organization in the early years of the revolution, usually under the age of 30. In the 2000s, after the retirement of some older forces, this corps hired several young forces. The members of this corps have passed many filters over the years and are trusted by the IRGC and other organizations. Unlike some other IRGC forces and security institutions, these forces are rarely extremist supporters of the Supreme Leader, perhaps because they are closely acquainted with many political figures from various factions and are well-versed in political issues. However, these forces are usually not very trained to deal with potential incidents, especially since there have rarely been threats against high-ranking officials of the Islamic Republic in the past 30 years. Although the Ansar al-Mahdi Protection Corps occasionally conducts drills, its members jokingly and seriously state that most hypothetical assassinations in these drills have been successful. Before the incident of the attack on the Iranian Parliament, the assassination of prominent figures, including Iran's nuclear scientists, also showed that the members of this corps are not very capable of dealing with serious attacks. The attack on the Parliament also indicated that the usual methods in this corps are outdated and were only applicable against armed opposition groups in the early years of the revolution. In a film released by state television about the attack on the Parliament, one of the protection forces states that to inform the next security circle, he moved towards the next door and closed it. It is unclear why he did not have a radio or did not use it, but as Tehran representative Mahmoud Sadoughi also wrote on Twitter, 'The Parliament does not have a warning system' that automatically alerts everyone to danger in such situations. However, the members of the Ansar al-Mahdi Protection Corps have different fates. Some remain in this job until retirement, while others become employees or managers of government agencies due to their relationships with officials. For instance, Ardeshir Darvishi, the team leader for the protection of Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, became responsible for the ceremonies of the Cultural Heritage Organization for a while and also served as the head of Azadi Stadium. Some bodyguards who have gained the trust of senior Islamic Republic officials, including some bodyguards of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Mehdi Karroubi, have become their special secretaries. Some bodyguards have also resigned from the IRGC and engaged in economic activities. Bodyguards are required to record in notebooks known as 'Loh' reports of the places they have visited or even where they have eaten. Some of the news published by the Tasnim and Fars news agencies about officials is also derived from these reports. Due to their constant companionship with Islamic Republic officials, bodyguards have fascinating stories and are considered a 'treasure trove of secrets.' However, they can only give interviews with the permission of the Ansar al-Mahdi Protection Corps, and in recent years, a few interviews with them, including some bodyguards of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, have been published.