Senior Guards commanders cast the Revolutionary Guard's paramilitary Basij force as central to Iran’s response in June’s 12-day war with Israel and pressed for an expanded role for the force at home and in any future confrontation.
Established in 1979 under IRGC command as a mass mobilization force, the Basij has long been embedded in Iran’s internal security apparatus.
“Basij volunteers were active in the fields of security and public support from the first day of the escalation,” the Revolutionary Guards Commander-in-Chief Mohammad Pakpour said on Thursday.
Addressing a nationwide Basij drill, he said public expectations of the Guards and its volunteer network have increased and that both institutions must intensify their efforts.
Rights groups have long documented the Basij’s role in crushing major waves of unrest.
They cite the 2009 post-election protests, the November 2019 crackdown that killed hundreds, and the 2022–23 uprising after Mahsa Amini’s death. Reports describe beatings, arbitrary detentions, and the use of live ammunition. Iranian authorities deny any systematic abuse.
In Zahedan, deputy IRGC commander Ali Fadavi told a Basij rally on Wednesday that June’s clashes signaled “the defeat of the arrogance front,” in reference to the United States and Israel.
He argued the episode marked “the start of a new path” and said Washington sought to halt the fighting after Iran launched missiles at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
Washington earlier engaged Tehran over its nuclear program with a 60-day deadline. On June 13, a day after the ultimatum expired, Israel launched a surprise campaign that ended with US strikes on June 22.
Hardline calls for any future confrontation
Basij members oppose ending a future conflict without the complete destruction of Israel, Senior IRGC adviser Mohammadreza Naghdi also said Thursday in Mashhad.
“If another battlefield opens, the Basij’s demand is that we should not stop this war without the complete destruction and elimination of the Zionist regime.”
He described Iran’s adversaries as “in their weakest state” and said the Basij is prepared “to endure any hardship” in a wider war.
“Soon you will be reduced to misery by these Basijis,” said Naghdi.
Earlier in the week, IRGC spokesperson Ali-Mohammad Naeini told a Basij conference that Iran had faced “all of CENTCOM and NATO on its own without seeking assistance from any country.”
Iran’s command structure, he said, was restored quickly after initial strikes and credited coordinated mobilization for sustaining what he called political and economic stability.
“It is now dangerous to approach nuclear installations because of security issues,” Araghchi told France 24 in Paris. “There are unexploded munitions, and there are also concerns regarding radioactivity and chemical contamination.”
He said inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency continue at facilities that were not attacked, but access to damaged sites requires “a new framework and proper modalities.”
Araghchi called last week’s resolution by the IAEA’s 35-nation Board of Governors “a political and unilateral decision,” saying it ignored the reality that Iranian nuclear sites had been bombed. “If you do not include the realities on the ground, then you are committing an error,” he said.
The minister said the Cairo agreement reached earlier this year with IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi had acknowledged that conditions had changed after the attacks and that a new inspection protocol would be needed.
Further attacks possible
Asked whether more strikes could occur, Araghchi said Israel’s recent record suggested the risk remains. “The Israeli regime over the last two years has attacked seven different countries,” he said. “So it’s clear that another attack is possible.”
His comments came a day after IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said in Manila that the agency wants to “fully reengage with Iran” to restore inspection access and verify enrichment activities. The IAEA’s 35-member Board of Governors last week passed a resolution calling on Tehran to inform it “without delay” about the status of its enriched uranium stock and sites hit in June’s strikes.
Iran condemned the vote as “illegal and unjustified,” saying it undermined the Cairo inspection accord that Grossi reached with Tehran in September through Egyptian mediation. Araghchi accused Western powers of “killing” that agreement, saying it had provided a framework for cooperation before Israel and the United States bombed enrichment facilities during the 12-day conflict in June.
No enrichment after attacks
Earlier this month, Araghchi said Iran was no longer enriching uranium at any site in the country, citing the destruction caused by the attacks. “There is no enrichment right now because our facilities — our enrichment facilities — have been attacked,” he said in response to a question from an Associated Press journalist at a conference in Tehran. “There is no undeclared nuclear enrichment in Iran. All of our facilities are under the safeguards and monitoring” of the IAEA.
Iran had previously enriched uranium up to 60% purity — just short of weapons-grade levels — after the United States withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal in 2018. Tehran says its atomic program is entirely peaceful.