Alirza Quluncu, Voice of America, September 03, 2019
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| Ural Hatemi |
According to Ural Hatemi, Seyyed Ali Khamenei and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (Sepah) are already trying to design Iran's politics for the post-Khamenei era. In an interview with Voice of America, the author of Maduniyyət magazine explains Sepah's influence on the country’s economic and political institutions.
“Sepah’s place in Iran’s political structure is not just the economy. We can see it in all areas. From culture to the economy, from politics to society, Sepah can be found everywhere. In political factions or groups, we also see people who are members of Sepah. Sepah is a system that has spread throughout every corner of Iran,” says the researcher.
He also suggests that those who do not have good relations with Sepah cannot survive in Iranian politics:
“Leaving aside the behind-the-scenes politics, if we talk about the open side of politics, we see that many members of parliament and ministers in Iran have spent part of their lives in Sepah... One truth is that those who do not have a good relationship with Sepah cannot stand in politics. Reformists or the internal opposition also maintain good relations with Sepah. A large part of the reformists come from Sepah. Even the leaders of the reform movement and those who created it came from Sepah and continue to maintain their relationship with it.”
According to Hatemi, the economic resources controlled by the Revolutionary Guard Corps are “Iran's most profitable sources,” including natural gas, oil, road construction, and banks. “We see Sepah everywhere in the economy. Sepah has seized and monopolized all these sectors.”
Hatemi also mentions that Sepah has no difficulty in attracting expert young forces:
“Sepah connects with technology through its Khatam al-Anbiya headquarters. They recruit engineers trained at different universities in Iran and employ them there. They take talented young individuals who have reached the military service age and utilize their knowledge and research skills in such fields. Of course, the level of technology in use is another matter.”
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| Iran's Supreme Leader with Sepah Commanders |
According to the researcher, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which has been expanding its influence in all sectors since its establishment, is now working on designing Iran's politics after Khamenei’s death.
“After the U.S. placed Sepah on its sanctions list in recent months, we can see from the analyses published in Iranian media that Sepah is preparing for the future. The most important example of this was the change of three of Sepah’s leaders. Was this decision made by Khamenei, or the generals inside Sepah? They are doing this together. I think that in Iran’s future, during crises and emergencies, Sepah is already being prepared. In fact, they have been preparing for 30 years. This is why so many opportunities have been provided to Sepah,” says the researcher.
Ural Hatemi adds that “Sepah and Khamenei are trying to draw the plan and map for the post-Khamenei era. We can see this in the activities and changes being carried out... It is also discussed that the future president, who will succeed Rouhani, will be a commander affiliated with Sepah.”
Link to the original interview in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
Ural Hatəmi: Sepah post-Xameneyi erası üçün plan hazırlayır