Mohammad Reza Naqdi Moves from Basij to Cultural Deputy of the IRGC

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, issued an order appointing Gholamhossein Ghaibpour as the head of the Basij Organization and deputy commander of the IRGC in Basij affairs, while Mohammad Reza Naqdi was appointed as the cultural and social deputy of the IRGC. In this order, Ayatollah Khamenei noted that Mohammad Ali Jafari, the commander of the IRGC, had proposed Ghaibpour's appointment in place of Naqdi. The leader of the Islamic Republic has asked Ghaibpour to work on 'creating and organizing think tanks and monitoring groups at all levels, especially in the Basij headquarters for strategic planning and monitoring activities to prevent enemy infiltration.' Another expectation from the new head of the Basij Organization is to 'create a definitive mechanism for enhancing synergy among different sectors and cooperation and coordination with relevant agencies.' Ghaibpour took command of the 'Imam Hussein' headquarters after the death of Hossein Hamadani in Syria. He had previously been the commander of the Fajr IRGC in Fars Province. In 2012, he told those he referred to as 'deceived elites' that 'to return to the system, they must, like Har, put their boots around their necks and say we were wrong.' The new head of the Basij Organization had also labeled Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi, leaders of the protesters against the 2009 presidential election results, and Mohammad Khatami, a former president of Iran, as 'political impurities' and stated that these three would not be 'purified' without expressing regret. According to the order from the leader of the Islamic Republic, Mohammad Reza Naqdi, the former head of the Basij Organization, has also been appointed as the cultural and social deputy of the IRGC. Before him, Mohammad Hossein Zibayee Nejad held this position. Naqdi has consistently taken the harshest stances against the protesters of the 2009 election and has called for the annulment of their Iranian identification documents without mentioning Mousavi and Karroubi by name. He has given numerous speeches about the imminent 'collapse' of the West and the United States, labeling more than 40% of the American population as 'illegitimate,' discussing satellite issues, 'bad hijab,' and modern lifestyles in Iran. Mohammad Reza Naqdi is considered one of the staunchest opponents of the economic policies of Hassan Rouhani's government and has always accused him of ignoring Ayatollah Khamenei's directives regarding the implementation of 'resistance economy' and distancing from 'revolutionary spirit.' On September 1, he stated that 'infiltrators' prevent the formation of 'resistance economy' and that today, saving humanity from the dollar is 'more important than the struggles of the Mujahideen of Hamas in Palestine and Hezbollah in Lebanon.'