Kasra Aarabi (کسری اعرابی) Profile picture
Director of IRGC Research, United Against Nuclear Iran (@UANI). Specialist on Iran & its military apparatus | PhD-ing IRGC @univofstandrews | فارسی | Own Views

Feb 19, 10 tweets

There’s growing talk about possible U.S. strikes on the IRGC’s suppressive apparatus—but what would this look like?

Beyond the intel services, there’s almost no detailed public info on the IRGC’s domestic repressive infrastructure

Our research exposes it—for the first time 👇🧵

There are 11 IRGC security-military HQs across Iran’s 31 provinces. They control the IRGC’s provincial guard in the respective provinces they oversee (3 provinces on average). If a “red situation” is declared, these HQs gain full authority over the provinces they control 2/

Since 2007, the IRGC has decentralized its structure via the establishment of its Provincial Guards (PG), which operate under the control of the 11 IRGC security-military HQs. The Tharallah HQ operates as the nerve center of the regime’s repression in Tehran and across Iran. 3/

These PGs serve as military commanders for their respective provinces, overseeing all IRGC & Basij bases within their areas. Tharallah HQ oversees 3 PGs for Tehran & Alborz Province. The IRGC’s Mohammad Rasulullah Corps in Tehran is the most critical & Tehran’s main IRGC force 4/

The Mohammad Rasulullah Corps operates a main staff base on Niayesh Highway in the north of Tehran. Our report identifies 23 IRGC-Basij Regional Bases, each located in one of Tehran’s 22 municipality regions, operating under its command. 5/

These 23 IRGC-Basij Regional Bases—the locations of which are in our report—have been at the forefront of the brutal massacre on the Iranian streets. Think of them as the nerve centres for repression at the operational level. 6/

In the vertical structure, beneath the IRGC-Basij Regional Bases lies the Basij District Bases (howzeh in Farsi). We identify 300 Basij District Bases spread across Tehran city’s 123 municipality districts. 7/

The final layer in the IRGC Mohammad Rasullullah’s vertical structure are the Basij Neighborhood Bases (mahalaat). In total, we identify 3000 Basij neighbourhood bases across Tehran’s 375 neighbourhoods. Many of these neighbourhood bases are mosques. 8/

In addition to all these layers, to control Tehran & manage its security forces, the Tharallah HQ has established 4 operational sub-HQs, dividing Tehran into 4: Quds (northwest Tehran), Nasr (northeast Tehran), Fath (southwest Tehran), & Ghadr (southeast & central Tehran). 9/

For full research co-authored by me and Dr. Saeid Golkar please see link below. Our research is based of primary IRGC material acquired from within the Tharallah HQ and its sub-headquarters in Iran. 👇unitedagainstnucleariran.com/tharallah-head…

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