Statements by the Head of the Basij Organization Regarding the Confrontation of Flood-Affected People with the IRGC and Basij

Gholamhossein Ghaibparvar, the head of the Basij Organization, stated early on Monday, April 8, that during the recent floods, what he called 'anti-revolutionary media' aims to set the people against the IRGC and Basij. According to the Mehr News Agency, Ghaibparvar added that 'by trusting the local elders and sheikhs of the flood-affected areas and also informing and educating the flood-affected people, a strong slap will be dealt to the anti-revolutionary media.' The head of the Basij Organization, who was speaking during a meeting with the commander of the IRGC's Dast-Azadegan district, did not provide further details on this matter. These remarks come after reports and videos surfaced on social media and YouTube showing 'the IRGC units confronting people and pressuring them to evacuate villages and residential homes in flood-affected areas, especially in Khuzestan province.' Ramadan Sharif, the spokesperson for the IRGC, denied these reports on Wednesday, stating that members of this force 'only use their discursive power' to persuade people to move away from areas that pose a risk to their lives. However, one day after denying any clashes between the IRGC and the flood-affected residents, news emerged of the death of Aboud Jalizi, a flood-affected farmer from Khuzestan. The Abdolrahman Boroumand Human Rights Foundation reported on Thursday, April 15, that Jalizi died from severe injuries at the Apadana Hospital. According to this report, Mr. Jalizi was injured during clashes and gunfire from the IRGC forces against flood victims in the villages of Jalizi, Sagour, and Shakariyeh along the Allah Akbar route in Dast-Azadegan, Khuzestan, on the morning of April 14. Meanwhile, on Saturday, the Campaign for the Defense of Political and Civil Prisoners reported that two residents of a village in Khuzestan were arrested and transferred to an unknown location. According to the campaign, on Saturday, security forces arrested Ahmad Kabbi and Yaqoub Kabbi, two residents of the Guriyeh village in the Shouybiyeh district of Shushtar, Khuzestan, and transferred them to an unknown location. It is said that these two were present during local humanitarian aid efforts in the recent floods, but no information is available regarding the reasons for their arrest. The Campaign for the Defense of Political and Civil Prisoners also reported that on Thursday, April 15, Khalaf Marvani, a resident of the Marvaneh village in the central Ahvaz district, was arrested and transferred to an unknown location 'due to protesting the lack of aid to the flood-affected people of his village and also preventing the breaking of the flood barrier by the IRGC demolition group.' Today, on Monday, a video circulating on social media showed the governor of Khuzestan threatening a flood-affected citizen who protested the Islamic Republic's foreign policy. In part of this video, the flood-affected citizen speaks about his problems and complains, 'Why do you reach Syria but do not help us?' Gholamreza Shariati, the governor of Khuzestan, responds, 'Don't talk nonsense! A disrespectful opponent of the regime, get lost, before I…' The Islamic Republic's regional policy has previously been criticized by various protesters, and following recent droughts, Isfahan farmers have repeatedly chanted, 'Leave Syria alone, think about us.' In the more than two weeks since the onset of nationwide floods in Iran, this is not the first time the IRGC's presence in relief operations for flood victims has made headlines, and tensions have arisen between the government and the IRGC regarding the manner of the IRGC's presence in these areas.