Safeguarding Regime Even More Important than Prayers

October 29, 2009

Hamed Irani

In very extraordinary remarks, Guards General Mohammad Ali Jaafari said that one could even forget about praying for the sake of safeguarding the Islamic Republic of Iran.


Speaking in the town of Orumieh amid religious students and West Azerbaijan province Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), General Jaafari proclaimed,

“Safeguarding the Islamic Republic is even more important than (daily) prayers,” adding, “domestic enemies of the country are trying to overthrow the regime with the help of foreign enemies.”

Jaafari, who in the days following the post June-12 contested presidential elections has emerged to be known as a key figure in the regime coup, continued,

“Battling injustice has unfortunately driven some domestic individuals who at one time were in line with the regime to be in tune with foreign enemies and they are in line together to destroy the nature of the Islamic Republic.”

Violating the will of the founder of the Islamic Republic and the express provisions of the constitution both of which forbid military men get involved in politics, this senior military official attacked election competitors of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and said,

“These individuals question the injustice fighting goals of the regime and said this in their election campaigns and again during the Qods day [a day of solidarity with the Palestinian people] celebrations and their remaining members tries to question the regime again.”

This commander used the word “plot” for the massive post-election public protests and announced that “the country had just passed beyond a major danger,” and because of “public’s awareness and presence” and the “wise guidance” of the leader the danger had been overcome as the “flames of fire from this plot have been extinguished.”

The Commander at the Coup Headquarters

This is of course not the first time that the commander of the IRGC shocks the public with his remarks. Two months ago too he jumped into the political arena as a member of a political faction attacking the leaders of a competing political movement through startling remarks.

On September 2 this year, on the occasion of commemorating the martyrs of the 8-year war with Iraq, he expressly said that former president Mohammad Khatami, the current leader of Majmae Rohaniyoon Mobarez seyed Mohammad Mousavi Khoeniha and a senior member of the Sazemane Mojahedin Enghelab organization (Islamic Revolution Mojahedin) Behzad Nabavi who has been behind bars for months, were plotting to overthrow the regime and accused them of animosity with the leader of the Islamic regime distorting their statements.

Jaafari attributed these remarks to Mousavi Khoeniha, “We must strengthen ourselves and pull down the leader by any means! He must be made aware that he can not take the country towards any direction that he wishes. Khatami and his allies have plenty of experience now.”

In another part of the same talk, Jaafari attributed these words to Khatami: “If Ahmadinejad is defeated in this election, then the leader will be eliminated. If reforms are returned to the country, the leader will no longer have any authority.”

And he said that Nabavi had made these remarks at a private event:

“We must portray Ahmadinejad to be the choice of the leader so that his defeat will be the defeat of the leader as well.” Jaafari is on record to have also told Basiji militiamen under the command of the IRGC that they did not have to wait for orders from their superiors to confront protesting students and could do so on their own initiative.