Radical Islamists assist Iran’s police force in crackdown

Iran Focus: Tehran, Iran, Mar. 02 – Iran’s Bassij force, comprised of radical Islamists loyal to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, are assisting the State Security Forces in maintaining “national security”, the organisation’s chief announced on Thursday. Iran Focus

Tehran, Iran, Mar. 02 – Iran’s Bassij force, comprised of radical Islamists loyal to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, are assisting the State Security Forces in maintaining “national security”, the organisation’s chief announced on Thursday.

“The responsibilities of [the police and the Bassij”> demand that these two organisations have a special relationship with each other”, Revolutionary Guards Brigadier General Mohammad Hejazi, who heads the paramilitary Bassij, told a gathering of senior officials of Iran’s security apparatus.

Hejazi described the level of cooperation between the Bassij and Iran’s security forces as “very effective”, comparing them to the “fingers of the same hand”.

Since the accession of hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to power, the two main agencies of internal security, the paramilitary police and the Bassij, have expanded their cooperation. The deputy commander of Bassij in Tehran was appointed as the new police chief last year.