The Revolutionary Guards' deliberate attempt to involve Iran in war

Suheila. Sh. FCNN News Agency: Iraq is currently engaged in a pre-planned war. Kurdish Peshmerga forces have entered into a war with government forces, and due to the proximity of the Kurdistan Region, it is feared that Iran will not be spared either. Especially since evidence suggests direct involvement of the Revolutionary Guard Corps and Basij forces in the conflicts in Iraq.

The situation in Iran is sensitive. For years, the people have been paying the price for the insistence of the leaders of the Islamic Republic government to equip the country with nuclear energy. This is because this regime has been accused of supporting terrorism due to the extensive presence of the Revolutionary Guard Corps in Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, and other areas of war between Shiites, Arabs, and Israel, and some world leaders have called Iran a supporter of terrorism. Meanwhile, the attack is aimed at the Revolutionary Guard Corps.

An institution that, according to evidence, has deliberately created the grounds for Iran to be accused of supporting terrorism and unrest in the Middle East in recent decades. Of course, the heads of the three branches of government and the leadership of the Islamic Republic have also supported the Revolutionary Guard Corps at various stages.

A handful of samples

Last week, Mohammad Bagheri, Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, said during his recent visit to Damascus: “It is unacceptable that the Zionist regime violates Syrian soil and skies by air and land whenever it wants.”

Exactly one day later, Israel struck targets in the Golan Heights, in Syrian territory.

According to the BBC, the Israeli army said the attack was in response to mortar fire fired from Syria.

Another BBC report emphasized that in the heavy fighting between Iraqi central government forces and the Kurdish Peshmerga, counter-terrorism forces, federal police, and popular mobilization forces are present. The report continued by stating that the counter-terrorism units have been trained by the United States and that some of the popular mobilization forces are supported by Iran.

These are examples of the aforementioned evidence that accuse Iran of supporting terrorism.

The heat of the eight-year war still lingers.

In these circumstances, it is logical for the Iranian people to be concerned about the country's security. The heat of the eight-year Iran-Iraq war still burns the foreheads and hearts of the people. A war whose profits went into the pockets of the Revolutionary Guard and its cronies at the top of power, and whose smoke was in the eyes of the people.

In a report published by Khabar Online, citing Saadeh Eqtesad, two years ago, the war's damage to Iran was 10 times the country's total oil revenues during the eight years of the war. Damages that are still weighing heavily on the Iranian economy and people.

In addition, people are grieving the loss of their loved ones and suffering from serious injuries.

According to FCNN, during the eight years of the Iran-Iraq war, 233,591 Iranians were martyred, 155,000 of whom were young people between the ages of 16 and 25 who had no experience of fighting or confronting the enemy.

Of course, the number of more than 5,000 missing persons and their families waiting for their turn should not be ignored. The relics of the Iran-Iraq war are also veterans who struggle with various disabilities and diseases. The number of these wounded is also more than 520,000 people. Their families suffer pain and bear the burden of the war.

The IRGC's reaction to the popular repression of 2009

The experience after the 2009 elections and the suppression of popular protests was another bitter experience in the confrontation between different segments of our country's people and the interests of the Revolutionary Guards in Iran.

An experience that led to the killing and widespread arrests of a number of young people and groups protesting the actions of the Revolutionary Guards and the Islamic Republic regime. The killings in Kahrizak are still fresh in people's minds, as are the shootings by plainclothes members of the IRGC and Basij on June 23, 24, and 25 of people who were just demanding their right to vote.

In addition, the IRGC's response to these heinous crimes, arrests, and long prison sentences has not yet been forgotten by the people.

Mohammad Ali Jafari was the commander-in-chief of the IRGC at the time, and after these tragedies, a video of him was released that was shared thousands of times on social media in less than 24 hours.

In this film, Jafari, referring to the Friday prayer on June 19, 2009, which was held by Ayatollah Khamenei, says, "After that, it was natural that we should not allow even peaceful demonstrations to take place."

Mohammad Ali Jafari emphasizes that the "non-interference" of the IRGC and Basij in those elections would have allowed the forces opposing the Islamic Revolution to do their job.

At the end of the film, the commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says that the widespread arrests caused concern in Mir Hossein Mousavi's election campaign, and the continuation of these arrests, along with the decisive resistance of the people and the security, military, and law enforcement agencies, caused them to give in."

The commander of the IRGC was proud of his warlike nature.

But all these scars seem to have not satiated the eyes of the leaders of the Revolutionary Guards and they have not felt any pain.

Brigadier General Salami, deputy commander-in-chief of the Revolutionary Guards, proudly said on Friday last week: "If there had been no war, we would now be a group of people with rifles in small bases as part of the IRGC."

Iranian media also published these statements with the same writing and headline, which shows that they have the full approval of the Revolutionary Guards and the regime's leaders.

The IRGC's grip on Iran's economy begins

The IRGC's grip during the Iran-Iraq War and the decades that followed is no secret. Today, we are witnessing that this institution has become a major economic giant in Iran, and according to Hassan Rouhani's past statements, no one has the strength or courage to confront it.

During his tenure in the 11th government, Rouhani said, "Our economic activists were afraid of the government that did not have guns, let alone the fact that we gave the economy to a government that has both guns and the media, and has everything, and no one dares to compete with them."

Hassan Rouhani also said in 2014 that the accumulation of information, guns, and media in the hands of one institution leads to corruption. However, today there are no accurate statistics on the real value of the IRGC's assets and economic activities, but the Financial Times, in its report, quoting several economists, estimated the value of the IRGC's economic network to be around $100 billion.

Major corruption in the IRGC revealed

At this time, it is not out of place to recall the news announced by Ali Motahari, the Deputy Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, in recent weeks.

In an interview with the French newspaper Le Monde, he confirmed the arrest of several senior commanders of the Revolutionary Guards on charges of financial and economic corruption.

While in January of last year, Hossein Nejat, the deputy head of the IRGC's intelligence organization, denied financial corruption among the IRGC's leaders and called it an effort by media outlets affiliated with the enemy. In the meantime, it is clear that the IRGC's influence over the three branches of government has increased. Because Hassan Rouhani, who was one of the main critics of the IRGC in his previous administration and considered this institution a government with guns, has now become a staunch defender of the IRGC in the face of US President Trump's statements.

All of this indicates that there are hands at work to bring Iran into the battle to extend the lost or weakened power of the Islamic Republic regime, led by the Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The IRGC openly admits to waging war.

In these circumstances, and given the history that the Iranian people have with the Revolutionary Guards, on Friday last week, the deputy commander-in-chief of this institution called on the people to remain calm. The people whose main concern is the deliberate moves of the Revolutionary Guards to involve Iran in regional wars.

According to the same news published in our country's media, the deputy commander of the Revolutionary Guards emphasized to the Iranian nation: "People should not worry; we have enough power to stand confidently in front of the enemies. Today, we have enough power to stand confidently and present a world-friendly model that both fights and is besieged, but also progresses. If the enemy had not disrupted the space of Syria and Iraq, could we have played such a clear role and pushed the enemies to the margins of regional politics?"

Today, it is appropriate to review this question in our minds. Who is the main enemy of Iran and Iranians, and from which enemy have the Iranian people suffered the most damage and trauma over the past four decades?

A group in Iran holds a significant portion of the power, who are wolves in sheep's clothing. But according to Matthew 7:16, every tree is known by its fruit. Do they gather grapes from thorns or figs from thistles?

Now we ask for blessings for our land, our people, and even the leaders of the Islamic Republic, because our charter is the Holy Bible, and according to the word of God, we ask for the kingdom of God and His justice for Iran. There is no doubt that after that, all blessings will be upon Iran and Iranians, and the dust of darkness will be lifted from our land. Amen.