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Politics

Khamenei Praises Iranian Militiamen’s “Sacrifice” Amid Bloody Protest Crackdown

November 26, 2022
Akhtar Safi
2 min read
“They have sacrificed their lives to protect people from rioters...the presence of the Basij shows that the Islamic Revolution is alive,” the 83-year-old Khamenei said in a televised speech to a group of Basij members
“They have sacrificed their lives to protect people from rioters...the presence of the Basij shows that the Islamic Revolution is alive,” the 83-year-old Khamenei said in a televised speech to a group of Basij members

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has praised the paramilitary Basij force for its role in suppressing anti-government protests that have rocked Iran for more than two months.

The Basij, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), has been at the forefront of a brutal state crackdown on the wave of demonstrations against the clerical regime.

Khamenei’s November 26 comments came a day after the Basij and other security forces violently clashed with peaceful protests in the restive eastern city of Zahedan, reportedly killing scores of people.

The protesters chanted slogans both against Khamenei and in solidarity with protesters in western Kurdish cities, where security forces have fired on protesters with heavy weaponry over the past days.

Iran has been gripped by protests since the September death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman, in the custody of Tehran’s morality police.

The unrest triggered a heavy-handed crackdown by security forces in which more than 400 people were killed, including dozens of children. Thousands of people have also been arrested.

Earlier this week, a human rights group reported the deaths of at least 56 members of Iran’s security forces since the start of nationwide demonstrations, including 31 members of the Basij force.

“They have sacrificed their lives to protect people from rioters...the presence of the Basij shows that the Islamic Revolution is alive,” the 83-year-old Khamenei said in a televised speech to a group of Basij members.

"Today, the country has the capacity for training Basij forces and the Basij has the capacity to move the country forward with big steps,” the supreme leader said at the start of the so-called Basij Week marking the creation of the paramilitary force more than 40 years ago.

The protest movement demanding more freedoms and women's rights has grown to become one of the biggest threats to the clerical regime since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

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November 26, 2022
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