US Threatens More Attacks As IRGC Remains Defiant
Iran is not afraid of the United States, a top IRGC general said Monday, although more than a month after the start of the Gaza war, Tehran has treaded a careful line.
Iran is not afraid of the United States, a top IRGC general said Monday, although more than a month after the start of the Gaza war, Tehran has treaded a careful line.
Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the commander of Iran’s aerospace force claimed the US is communicating with Iran in a humble tone about preventing an escalation in the Middle East. He also repeated familiar rhetoric that “Iran is currently at the pinnacle of power and cannot be threatened.”
Hajizadeh’s defiant remarks followed a third US strike on Iranian targets in eastern Syria Sunday night, after Iranian proxy militia groups continuously attacking US bases with drones and rockets.
Following the US strike, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin left open the possibility of more action against Iran-linked groups if attacks against American forces in Iraq and Syria do not stop.
The US military’s air strike Sunday targeted a training facility near the city of Albu Kamal and a safe house near the city of Mayadeen. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard have set up a strong presence in the region, trying to facilitate the flow of weapons and ammunition from Iraq into Syria and Lebanon.
The strikes came after at least 40 attacks against US and coalition troops in Iraq and Syria by Iran-backed forces in recent weeks, as regional tensions mount over the Israel-Hamas war. At least 45 US troops have suffered traumatic brain injuries or minor wounds.
"These attacks must stop, and if they don't stop, then we won't hesitate to do what's necessary, again, to protect the troops," Austin told reporters at a news conference in Seoul on Monday.
Iran has used the tactic for years to put pressure on the US, with the ultimate goal of forcing Washington to withdraw its military forces, which would allow Iran a freer hand to project power in Iraq and Syria. Iran escalated such attacks in December 2019, before former President Danald Trump authorized the killing of Iran’s top Middle East operative Qassem Soleimani in an air strike in January 2020.
The attacks had subsided for more than a year before the October 7 Hamas terror raid into Israel that ignited the Gaza war.
Austin said the latest air strikes in eastern Syria targeted facilities used by Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps and related groups.
"These strikes are intended to disrupt and degrade the freedom of action of these groups, which are directly responsible for attacks against US forces in Iraq and Syria," Austin said.
The United States has 900 troops in Syria, and 2,500 more in neighboring Iraq, to advise and assist local forces trying to prevent a resurgence of Islamic State, which in 2014 seized large swathes of both countries but was later defeated.
There is growing concern that the Israel-Hamas conflict could spread through the Middle East and turn US troops at isolated bases into targets of heavier weaponry than the smaller rockets and one-way drones seen so far.
The United States has deployed additional air defenses and sent warships and fighter aircraft to the region since the Israel-Hamas conflict erupted on October 7, including two aircraft carriers, to try to deter Iran and Iran-backed groups.
The number of troops added to the region is in the thousands.
Reuters has reported that the US military was taking new measures to protect its Middle East forces during the ramp-up in attacks by suspected Iran-backed groups and was leaving open the possibility of evacuating military families if needed.
The measures include increasing US military patrols, restricting access to base facilities and boosting intelligence collection, including through drone and other surveillance operations, officials say.
It was still unclear whether anyone was killed in the Sunday US strikes in Syria.
As of Sunday, around 40 current members of parliament and several former lawmakers or top officials were barred by the interior ministry from running in the elections.
Some lawmakers, including Jalal Mahmoudzadeh, an MP from Mahabad, have openly blamed President Ebrahim Raisi's government for the massive disqualification of its critics. Others such as former lawmaker Ali Motahari have demanded explanations and insisted on their religious credentials. Yet others such as reformist Massoud Pezeshkian said, "The Interior Ministry has accused me of not believing in the Islamic Republic regime."
Mahmoudzadeh said that the government owned Iran Newspaper has been calling in the last four months for the disqualifications of politicians who have been critical of the Raisi administration.
Massih Mohajeri, the editor of the conservative daily Jomhouri Eslami, has accused the government of disqualifying critics to silence them and their criticism of the Raisi administration's failures. He claimed that 46 current and former MPs have been disqualified simply for criticizing the the adverse economic conditions and other problems created by this government. Meanwhile, he acknowledged that the Interior Ministry, which conducts the first round of candidate vetting, has significantly tightened the net to reduce the number of candidates who can pass through the qualification process.
Like many other Iranian politicians, Mohajeri argued that the regime may be attempting to portray the hardliner Guardian Council, which conducts the final round of vetting, as the good cop by having the Interior Ministry do the dirty job. He pointed out that many of those who have been disqualified are regime insiders, indicating that the ruling circle is becoming tighter and smaller.
He stated that the actions of the Interior Ministry resemble the behavior one would expect from totalitarian regimes, such as the one in North Korea. He added that disqualifying this many incumbent MPs constitutes a clear violation of the Constitution. According to him, the result will likely be an even lower turnout than the previous Majles election in 2020, which was the lowest in Iran's modern history.
Mohajeri added that the Interior Ministry has admitted that it has found the critics inside the government to be acting against national security! He asked if more than 40 lawmakers do not believe in the Islamic Republic, what do you expect of them?
Moderate conservative daily Ettela'at which is usually silent about political matters in Iran, warned the government about the perils of the political purification plan which is being pursued by Iran's ultraconservatives and pointed out that the disqualification of incumbent MPs and other regime insiders is part of the same process.
Ettela'at wrote that more than 28 percent of those who had registered their candidacy have been disqualified by the Interior Ministry. Ettela'at wrote that the lawmakers who have been disqualified are precisely those who have tried during the past four years to fulfil their responsibilities. What they have done at the Majles is simply pointing out the inefficiency of government officials.
Etela'at also pointed out that because of the disqualifications, many regime insiders are now concerned about low turnout in the upcoming election. The daily told the ultraconservatives that they can still enter parliament by winning 10 percent of the votes and be proud of a 40 percent or less turnout, but the regime can no longer claim popular support.
According to Khabar Online Website, the Interior Ministry was biased against some of the candidates. The same point was reiterated by the former leader of the centrist Executives of Construction Party Gholamhossein Karbaschi. He further concluded that the government is not looking for a high-turnout election.
As one of the readers of conservative website Alef pointed out , "We voted for your friends four years ago. What did we get other than poverty, misery, and rising prices? On the other hand, conservatives do not want political participation. They lost every time the people participated in the elections." Another reader explained why the people are disillusioned: "During the past 40 years you have always called for people's participation in the months before the elections. You forget the people and their problems as soon as the elections are over."
The debate as to whether or not to designate Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as terrorist, like the US has done, has been a cause of bitter divide in the British parliament, as elsewhere. Iranians in the UK have also long joined the calls.
While individuals and entities related to the IRGC have been issued with sanctions from the UK and nations including Canada, the US and European Union member states, lawmakers say it does not go far enough.
According to The Telegraph, the letter has been signed by Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, as well as Tory grandees Sir Iain Duncan Smith, David Davis and Liam Fox and ex-head of the Army Lord Dannatt.
The group claims there is a “compelling and indisputable” case for proscribing the group to keep the UK and its citizens safe. The US proscribed the IRGC in 2019.
In a statement the group cited Scotland Yard’s claims that Iran has made at least 15 attempts since the start of 2022 to kidnap or even kill British or UK-based “enemies”. Additionally, they pointed out that Ken McCallum, the director general of MI5, has also warned that Tehran is a direct threat to the UK “through its aggressive intelligence services”.
An investigation in The Times revealed that British officials have identified more than half a dozen UK-based groups with direct ties to Tehran amid fears the hostile state is stirring up tension over the conflict in Israel.
The anti-Israel protests have stirred bitter debate in the UK where police have allowed the hundreds of thousands strong protests to continue, while containing more nationalist counter demonstrators.
Suella Braverman, the home secretary, last week accused London’s Met Police of showing bias when it came to demonstrations and of favouring left-wing causes and what she called pro-Palestinian “mobs”, many openly supporting Hamas with little legal ramifications.
The statement from the MPs argues that proscription would be in the interest of national security at home, as well as “peace, stability and justice” in the Middle East, where since the war broke out, Iranian proxies in Syria, Lebanon and Yemen have not only joined the war on Israel, but also attacked US facilities in Syria and Iraq.
Garnering a majority of Iran’s defense budget, since the 1979 revolution, the IRGC has become a major military, political, intelligence and economic force in the country. Its influence has spread not only across the Middle East as it supports Iran’s proxies in the region, but has since seen activity in the likes of the UK and US.
Earlier this year, Iran International’s UK offices were forced to temporarily relocate to Washington after national security agency MI5 said it could no longer protect the team who were under threat from IRGC agents.
In the US, it has also carried out numerous attempted attacks, not least to avenge the assassination of Quds Force Commander, Qassem Soleimani, killed by the US in 2020 under the Trump administration.
The Telegraph reported that in their statement, the parliamentarians argue that the group’s role in providing terrorists with weapons, training and financial support, as well as “fomenting violence and conflict” in the region, is “undeniable”.
“Their actions have exacerbated conflicts and hindered the path to peace,” they said.
“We strongly believe that the proscription of the IRGC is not only a global necessity, but also in the interests of our own national security.”
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has been reluctant to proscribe the IRGC in the face of increasing calls, not least since the Hamas terror attack on October 7. Iran funds its biggest Palestinian proxy at least $100m a year and supports it with arms, training and technical support.
In the months leading up to the attacks, Iranian leaders had top level meetings with Hamas and Hezbollah chiefs, signalling complicity in the attacks which were the single most deadly day for Jews since the Holocaust.
The British Prime Minister has since come under further pressure to designate the group since the war in Israel. Iranian proxies have become ever more activated, showing the potential threat the IRGC poses not only in the Middle East, but globally.
The parliamentarians’ statement concluded: “We call upon our Government to recognise the urgency of proscribing the IRGC as a terrorist organisation and proceed to do so. Such a decision would constitute a significant step towards peace, stability, and justice in the Middle East and beyond.”
In response to the letter, the UK government spokesman told The Telegraph: “We continue to take strong action against Iran while they threaten people in the UK and around the world. The UK has sanctioned more than 350 Iranian individuals and entities, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps in its entirety.
“Whilst the Government keeps the list of proscribed organisations under review, we do not comment on whether a specific organisation is or is not being considered for proscription.”