IRGC, BASIJ, ANSAR-E HIZBALLAH: INSIDERS' VIEWS

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 IRAN RPO DUBAI 000012 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS LONDON FOR GAYLE; PARIS FOR WALLER; BERLIN FOR PAETZOLD; BAKU E.O. 12958: DECL: 3/22/2027 TAGS: PGOV PREL IR IZ MOPS SUBJECT: IRGC, BASIJ, ANSAR-E HIZBALLAH: INSIDERS' VIEWS REF: IRPO DUBAI 0001 RPO DUBAI 00000012 001.2 OF 002 CLASSIFIED BY: Jillian L. Burns, Director, Iran Regional Presence Office, Dubai, UAE. REASON: 1.4 (d) 1.(S/NF) A purported former IRGC general and an Iranian doctor who is reportedly very close to the regime and specifically to the Basij, discussed in separate meetings with IRPO Director the IRGC, the Basij, and Ansar-e Hizballah. One said recent US actions against Iranians in Iraq had increased IRGC antagonism, but predicted it was unlikely the group would retaliate. Another claimed that the percentage of hardcore conservatives in the IRGC is miniscule, and some are actually pro-American. A third source, a psychologist, reportedly teaches anger management to the Basij to help moderate their confrontational approach to the public. While their assertions cannot be verified, their comments are noteworthy. These contacts' comments on the current political situation will be reported septel. End summary IRGC -------------- 2.(S/NF) An Iranian who is purportedly a former IRGC general told IRPO Director that recent US actions against Iranians in Baghdad and Irbil had "provoked" the IRGC. Although it was not clear if he was speaking based on assumption or real knowledge, he said the actions have heightened antagonism within the organization against the US. On the other hand, the IRGC had long known that the US could take such actions, so they weren't necessarily surprised. He doubted the US would get any useful information from detainees. He also doubted there would be retaliation. He claimed the Supreme Leader had ordered rhetoric about the events to be kept low-key. 3.(S/NF) The former general also said that one of his tasks in the personnel division of the IRGC during the Iran-Iraq war was finding replacements for military personnel killed in action. Through their personnel files, he claimed to have gained a great understanding of IRGC personnel. He mentioned that in creating the IRGC personnel database, they based their system on the system used by the US military. 4.(S/NF) An Iranian doctor who spent years living in the US and who is now reportedly very close to former Foreign Minister Velayati and a number of other regime officials, discussed his view of the IRGC. He maintained that the IRGC has turned against President Ahmadi-Nejad. He also mentioned that the IRGC-Quds Force reports directly to the Supreme Leader. Asked his reaction to the US view that the IRGC was a very anti-US, hardline group that supported terrorism, he claimed that only a small percentage, around 3% of IRGC, are as hardline as the paramilitary group, Ansar-e Hizballah. He said a few are members of both organizations. Some in the IRGC are pro-US, he claimed. He said that after the Iran-Iraq war, many IRGC officers went to university and got higher degrees, changing their world views. He named as an example Soleimani (Note: presumably Brigadier General Qasem Soleimani, commander of the IRGC Qods Force. Soleimani's classified biography says he did not attend college prior to the Iran-Iraq war and makes no mention of any university education post-war. Endnote). 5.(S/NF) The former general mentioned that another former IRGC official who now has an Internet ISP company in Iran has been arrested several times for his company's activities. The source disputed the notion that all IRGC officials and former officials are well connected with regime and favored by it. He said this is only the case for members of a faction within the IRGC close to the current government (reftel). Basij -------------- 6.(S/NF) Both the general and the doctor reportedly have links to the Basij. The general reportedly knows Basij commander Mohammad Haj Aghamir, and the doctor is reportedly a regular advisor to and a friend of the leader of Tehran Basij. The general estimated Basij membership at 10-13 million (Note: presumably including non-active duty. End note). The doctor said 10 million members, plus their families. The doctor said Basij doctrine is to support the Supreme Leader and his policies. The group has no separate agenda and is not seeking to gain power for itself. He claimed that the Supreme Leader used the Basij to make known his dissatisfaction with the RPO DUBAI 00000012 002.2 OF 002 president (NFI) and that the Basij stopped supporting Ahmadi-Nejad about six months ago. He claimed the Basij now "hate" Ahmadi-Nejad because the president did not deliver on his promises to them during the election. The president supposedly promised them a lot of positions in new government but was unable to deliver because he got inundated with similar requests for other groups. 7.(S/NF) The doctor's wife, who was also at the meeting, reportedly teaches anger management to members of the Basij as well as police and guards for the Supreme Leader and Rafsanjani. She has a doctorate in psychology. Asked what the goal of such training is, she said as an example encouraging Basij to be less aggressive in their dealings with the public, such as confronting improperly dressed women. She classified the Iranian culture as "angry," in that when Iranians are confronted, their normal response is anger, and said in this way Iranians differ from Americans. She said she instructs the guards on alternative reactions. Ansar-e Hizballah -------------- 8.(S/NF) The purported former IRGC general said the Ansar-e Hizballah paramilitary group was very conservative, but also very small. He put their membership at 3000 members, found only at universities. He said that Ansar-e Hizballah was established during the Iran-Iraq war by Hussein Allah Karam, who came out of the Basij. He described Allah Karam as very smart, saying he has a PhD. The general disputed rumors heard frequently from Iranians that Ansar-e Hizballah deploys foreigners such as Palestinians and Yemenis in their ranks. 9.(S/NF) The doctor said that Ansar-e Hizballah is divided into those willing to use violence and those not. He also said the group is very conservative, calling them "stupid eggheads." He put their membership, however, at 200,000 members. He said the group supports President Ahmadi-Nejad, although they obeyed when the Supreme Leader reportedly told Allah Karam not to interfere in the December 2006 municipal and Assembly of Experts elections. 10.(S/NF) Comment: These are snippets of interesting information offered by sources who reportedly have a degree of inside information. These sources were all introduced to IRPO director by the same longstanding Iranian-American contact, making it difficult to independently verify their claims of access to the regime. None of them were applying for visas, so they had no reason to color their statements in this regard - unlike many of our contacts - but their motivation for meeting with a US official remains unclear. Their assessment that the IRGC contains various political groupings is in line with comments from other contacts, who have maintained the IRGC contains factions favoring one politician - Ahmadi-Nejad, Qalibaf, Rafsanjani, etc, - over another. The doctor's claim that the IRGC as a whole is now anti-Ahmadi-Nejad and that the Basij "hate" him may have been based on political motivation. The doctor, who reportedly served on the presidential campaign of Velayati, remains an avid supporter, and claims Velayati is planning a 2009 bid. He may have been deliberating exaggerating the situation to color USG's assessment of Ahmadi-Nejad's political standing in Iran. 11.(C) Comment con't: On a related note, a different, very westernized Iranian contact who lives outside Iran - not apparently connected to any of these groups - advised the USG to moderate the "vilification" of the IRGC and the Basij, which he said was found in VOA broadcasting. Given the size of these two organizations, he said, a large percentage of the Iranian population has an IRGC or Basij member in the family. Making sweeping generalities about these organizations has the potential of turning this extended group against the US, he said, by making them worry that in the case of change in Iran, their family members would be targeted. He implied that the focus of US criticisms should be on specific objectionable behaviors of these groups, not on the groups themselves. This is not an issue we have raised with other contacts but can do so in the future in order to gauge reaction. BURNS