Stratfor:
1300 GMT 990720 - Iranian Military Warns Khatami
On July 19, the conservative Iranian daily Jomhuri-ye Eslami published
a letter signed by 23 senior Iranian commanders blaming Iranian
President Mohammed Khatami for the protests. The letter had been
handed over to Khatami on July 12 at the height of the unrest, and was
later leaked to the press. In the letter, the officers supported the
action taken by Ayatollah Khamenei in arresting those responsible for
the dormitory raid, but also stated that Khatami's policies had
incited the protests. They defended the decision by the Supreme
National Security Council in closing down the newspapers, citing the
relative importance of the sanctity of the post of the Imam over the
right of free speech. They also placed the blame squarely on Khatami's
shoulders for not allowing the use of force earlier to break up the
riots, and described his policies as being "tantamount to encouraging
chaos and lawlessness."
Finally they warned, "If you do not make a revolutionary decision and
if you do not fulfill your Islamic and national mission today,
tomorrow will be far too late. It is unimaginable how irretrievable
the situation will become. In the end, we would like to express our
utmost respect for your excellency and to declare that our patience
has run out. We cannot tolerate this situation any longer if it is not
dealt with."
The signatories included:
1. Gholamali Rashid -deputy commander of the general staff
headquarters;
2. Aziz Ja'fari -commander of the ground forces of the Islamic
Revolution Guards Corps;
3. Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf -commander of the air force of the Islamic
Revolution Guards Corps;
4. Qasem Soleymani -commander of the Qods Force of the Islamic
Revolution Guards Corps;
5. Ja'far Asadi -deputy commander of the ground forces of the Islamic
Revolution Guards Corps and former commander of the Fajr Division;
6. Ahmad Kazemi -commander of the Hamzeh Seyyed al-Shohada base;
7. Mohammad Kowsari -commander of the 27th Mohammad Rasulallah
Division;
8. Asadollah Naseh -commander of the Seyyed al-Shohada Division;
9. Mohammad Baqeri -deputy for intelligence affairs at the general
staff headquarters of the armed forces;
10. Gholamreza Mehrabi -deputy C-in-C of the Islamic Revolution Guards
Corps for intelligence affairs;
11. Abdolhamid Ra'ufinezhad -commander of the 41st Sarallah Division;
12. Nurali Shushtari -commander of the 25th Nasr Division;
13. Dr Ali Ahmadian -commander of the navy of the Islamic Revolution
Guards Corps;
14. Ahmad Qolampur -commander of the staff college and headquarters;
15. Ya'qub Zohdi -director of manpower resources at the joint staff
headquarters of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps;
16. Nabiollah Rudaki -commander of the Vali-ye Asr Division;
17. Ali Fadavi -deputy commander of the navy of the Islamic Revolution
Guards Corps;
18. Gholamreza Jalali -deputy for planning at the joint staff
headquarters of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps and former
commander of Ali Ibn Abi Talib Division;
19. Amin Shari'ati -commander of the engineering department at the
joint staff headquarters of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps;
20. Hoseyn Hamedani -deputy commander of the Basij Resistance Force
and former commander of the Najaf base;
21. Esma'il Qa'ani -deputy commander of the Qods Force;
22. Ali Fazli -deputy commander of the Sarallah base;
23. Ali Zahedi, Morteza Qorbani -commander of the Imam Husayn Division
and adviser to the president.
The Iranian military has always been conservative in its views, but
what is most striking about this list of officers is that it includes
many officers that are under Khatami's direct command. The Iranian
military is composed of two separate forces. One, the Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps, is under the direct operational control of
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The "regular" Iranian army
falls under the direct authority of Khatami. This letter is not simply
a matter of a difference of opinion between a hard-line faction in the
military and the president over the way he handled the situation, but
also a warning to Khatami that the whole military has solidified
around the conservative viewpoint on this issue. The fact that the
letter was leaked to the press even as the protests were dying down
also turns it into a threat should this sort of unrest happen again.
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