Passdaran Call for Greater Role

Rooz Online:

In their meeting recently with President Ahmadinejad, senior members Iran’s Passdaran Revolutionary Guards Corps had asked to have greater participation in government posts. In the meeting, leading members of the military force had complained that their “rights” had not been met in the appointments made by the president.

Reportedly their complaint was that far more individuals with security backgrounds had been given government posts than those who worked in the Passdaran. This is while observers agree that the military force played a crucial and decisive role in ensuring that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won the presidential elections in June.

Ahmadinejad reportedly promised the force more posts in the future. READ MORE

Soon after the visit, Mohammad Zolgadr, the then number two at the Passdaran, was appointed as the vice-minister at the Interior Ministry that oversees the security of the provinces, among its other duties. Furthermore, Ali Shadmani, the director of the science and technology of division of the Passdaran was also appointed as the Governor General of Hamedan province soon after. The quick response of the president is interpreted by observers to be his desire to maintain his good will among the commanders and body of the force. Observers have also said that the priority that Ahmadinejad has indicated among the competing groups that would like more participation in his government in favor of the Passdaran partly reflect his confidence and loyalty to the force, rather than to traditional hardline and conservative religious institutions. Analysts have said that in view of the way Ahmadinejad came to power, it was to be expected that the Passdaran would be given greater role, sooner or later, and that the latter would certainly make such demands if it felt it was being overlooked at the expense of other political institutions.