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MEAN STREETS MEDIA

Thursday, December 18, 2014

CUBA - Russia reopen's old missile base in Cuba last week

Screen Shot 2014 07 21 at 8.20.08 AMMoscow and Havana have agreed to reopen a Cold War-era signals intelligence (SIGINT) base in Lourdes, Cuba. 
An agreement was reached during Putin's visit to Cuba last week to reopen the base, Russia business daily Kommersant reported last week. That was confirmed by a Russian security source who told Reuters: "A framework agreement has been agreed."
The base was set up in 1964 after the Cuban missile crisis had brought the U.S. and Soviet Union close to confrontation over Moscow's proposal to place nuclear weapons on Cuban soil.
Havana shut it down in 2001 because of financial issues and American pressure.
Located south of Cuba's capital Havana and just 150 miles from the U.S. coast, the base left many parts of the U.S. vulnerable to Soviet communication intercepts, including exchanges between Florida space centers and U.S. spacecraft.
Here's what a Congressional report from 2000 said about the facility:
• The Secretary of Defense formally expressed concerns to Congress regarding the espionage complex at Lourdes, Cuba, and its use as a base for intelligence directed against the United States.
• The Secretary of Defense, referring to a 1998 Defense Intelligence Agency assessment, reported that the Russian Federation leased the Lourdes facility for an estimated $100 million to $300 million a year.
• It has been reported that the Lourdes facility was the largest such complex operated by the Russian Federation and its intelligence service outside the region of the former Soviet Union. 
• The Lourdes facility was reported to cover a 28 square-mile area with over 1,500 Russian engineers, technicians, and military personnel working at the base.
• Experts familiar with the Lourdes facility have reportedly confirmed that the base had multiple groups of tracking dishes and its own satellite system, with some groups used to intercept telephone calls, faxes, and computer communications, in general, and with other groups used to cover targeted telephones and devices.
• News sources have reported that the Lourdes facility obtained sensitive information about United States military operations during Operation Desert Storm.
• Academic studies cite official U.S. sources affirming that the Lourdes facility was used to collect personal information about United States citizens in the private and government sectors, and offered the means to engage in cyberwarfare against the U.S.
• The operational significance of the Lourdes facility reportedly grew dramatically after Russian President Boris Yeltsin issued a 1996 order demanding the Russian intelligence community increase its gathering of U.S. and other Western economic and trade secrets.
• It has been reported that the Government of the Russian Federation is estimated to have spent in excess of $3 billion in the operation and modernization of the Lourdes facility.
• Former U.S. Government officials were quoted confirming reports about the Russian Federation’s expansion and upgrade of the Lourdes facility.
• It was reported in December 1999 that a high-ranking Russian military delegation headed by Deputy Chief of the General Staff Colonel-General Valentin Korabelnikov visited Cuba to discuss the continuing Russian operation of the Lourdes facility. 
Defense experts agree the base could significantly boost Russia's ability to spy on America during a low-point in U.S.-Russia relations.
Ivan Konovalov, head of the Moscow-based Center for Strategic Trends Studies, estimated that the Lourdes base was used to acquire at least 50% of the Soviet Union's radio-intercepted intelligence from the U.S., according to Reuters.


Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/the-spy-base-russia-may-reopen-in-lourdes-cuba-2014-7#ixzz3MHFRiYHa

Interview: Maryam Rajavi Discussing Nuclear Talks With Iranian regime

Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the Iranian Resistance believes the Iranian regime must be placed under 'maximum international pressure and sanctions' if it is to be forced to give up its quest for a nuclear bomb.
In an interview with Ambassador Ken Blackwell, published in a number of news media, the leader of the Iranian Resistance identified the three facets of the regime’s survival strategy. Firstly, acquiring nuclear weapons, secondly, repressing its own citizens and thirdly aggression and meddling in neighbouring countries.
She said America's appeasement of the regime by writing letters to Supreme Leader Ali Khameni and failing to honor its promise to provide security for Iranian dissidents in Camp Liberty is seen as a sign of weakness by the regime, and emboldens the mullahs in Tehran in both their suppression of the Iranian people and their pursuit of regional hegemony.
Below is the full text:
Source: Townhall.com
By: KEN BLACKWELL
Winston Churchill famously said "Jaw-Jaw is better than War-War." He was right, of course. But with Iran, the mullahs have made War-War while engaging us in Jaw-Jaw. They have played us along with these nuclear talks.
Recently, I had the opportunity to interview Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the President of the National Council of Resistance of Iran. This extended transcript is worth the time to study. The stakes could not be higher.
This is the voice of Iran's freedom front. It's been said that Iran's mullahs with a nuclear weapon is "1,000 times more deadly" even than ISIS. Please take the time to read President Rajavi's response to my questions:
1. In your view, why did the Iranian regime and the West fail to reach an accord on the nuclear issue despite the concessions offered by the West and especially the United States?
Maryam Rajavi: The most important reason is that the regime's absolute ruler, Ali Khamenei, has not yet decided to abandon the path of developing nuclear weapons. The development of a nuclear weapon is one of the three facets of the clerical regime's survival strategy. The two others are repressing both the citizenry and the opposition (particularly the Mujahedin-e Khalq or the MEK), as well as regional aggression. The absence of any one of these three elements would spell the collapse of the regime's entire strategy, opening the floodgates for popular uprisings.
Despite their insatiable appetite for western concessions, the mullahs do not want to lose power. Therefore, they would only forego the bomb if they sense that their survival is in danger, and if they feel that the risk of insisting on the nuclear project outweighs the risk of abandoning it. This balance can only be realized when the clerical regime is placed under maximum international pressure and sanctions. It cannot be realized when fruitless negotiations continue and the regime is actually rewarded and granted concessions for flouting UN Security Council resolutions or disregarding IAEA demands. These concessions have been counterproductive and they have rescued the mullahs from reaching their point of desperation.
2. What do you think of the extension of the negotiations?
Maryam Rajavi: The extension of the talks grants greater opportunities to the mullahs to obtain a nuclear bomb, and there can be no guarantees or optimistic outcomes. The extension revealed the failure of the U.S. policy, which was based on the assumption that it can convince this medieval regime to act rationally through appeasement, negotiations, not toughening the sanctions and even reducing their impact. Sanctions forced the regime to come to the negotiating table in Geneva in the first place. The easing of sanctions and western concessions to the regime has enabled Khamenei to expand the scope of his red lines and avoid the signing of a final deal.
It must be noted that this regime, on the basis of the red lines dictated by Khamenei and due to the profound crises it is facing, especially the explosive nature of social discontent, will dodge the signing of a comprehensive agreement as long as it possibly can, unless international pressure forces it to retreat.
3. How do you view the Obama administration's conduct toward Iran, including moves like sending letters to Khamenei?
Maryam Rajavi: This conduct is not limited to writing letters. It has other dimensions, particularly maintaining silence with respect to human rights violations in Iran and inaction toward the attacks by the mullahs' puppet government in Iraq (Maliki) against Camps Ashraf and Liberty and the displacement of Ashraf residents, who had repeatedly been given written assurances for their safety and security by the United States.
As indicated in his speeches, Khamenei saw this as a sign of the U.S. weakness and was emboldened in his suppression of the Iranian people, development of nuclear weapons and pursuit of regional hegemony.
But as far as it concerns my compatriots, the people of Iran, they are extremely aggravated at such policies. They are the ones paying the price of this misguided policy with their blood and suffering. One can easily imagine how angry millions of Iranian families, who have had their children executed, tortured or suppressed by the mullahs, would be when they witness such conduct.
The slogan chanted by millions of Iranians during the 2009 uprisings is still relevant today: "Obama, you are either with the mullahs or with us."
4. Has this approach been helpful for solving the nuclear crisis?
Maryam Rajavi: The failure of the intense negotiations from November 2013 to November 2014 indicated that displaying weakness, offering all sorts of incentives to the mullahs and indefensibly overlooking the regime's international obligations have ironically undermined the process of resolving this crisis.
It was an unreasonable mistake for the United States and its allies to officially allow the Iranian regime to violate UN Security Council resolutions on its nuclear program. It was a mistake to permit the regime to enrich uranium in contrast to the same resolutions, and it was a mistake to tolerate the regime's ballistic missiles program and its export of arms to other counties.
5. Has the recent regional crisis had an impact on Tehran's behavior during the negotiations?
Maryam Rajavi: It has certainly increased the significance of acquiring nuclear weapons for Khamenei. Despite all his meddling, threats, and murders in Iraq, Khamenei failed to prevent the downfall of his proxy government (Maliki). This was a fundamental blow to the mullahs' domination over Iraq and it made Khamenei more fearful of the status of his rule in Iran itself. This is particularly the case since the regime has been unable to save Assad from the crisis in Syria over the past three years despite perpetrating an inhumane war through the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The actual fear over the crisis spilling into Iran, which would rattle the entire regime, has increased Khamenei's need for the bomb. As a result, he avoided any sort of flexibility during the negotiations.
6. How do you react to the idea that there should be a role for the Iranian regime in Iraq and specifically in the fight against ISIS, which could lay the groundwork for cooperation?
Maryam Rajavi: This would be a repeat of disastrous past experiences, the consequences of which are still haunting the Middle East and the entire world, including in the United States. I am talking about the cooperation with the Iranian regime during the overthrow of Saddam Hussein and more importantly opening Iraq's doors to the Iranian regime, its surrogates and militias after the war to gradually solidify their control in Iraq. In practice, this policy has turned Iraq into a launching pad for the expansion of terrorism and fundamentalism led by Tehran. The rise of ISIS is one of the by-products of this policy. The people of Iraq see the clerical regime as an occupying power. Any form of cooperation with this regime would cast a shadow of doubt over the legitimacy of operations carried out by the international coalition. Such hypothetical cooperation would also fuel a conflict desired by ISIS, because ISIS is trying to paint its acts of terrorism as a battle between Shiites and Sunnis in a bid to recruit Sunnis to its ranks.
7. What do you think can solve the current regional crisis?
Maryam Rajavi: The solution and the main key lie in the hands of the peoples of the region themselves. Confronting terrorism and extremism masquerading as Islam (whether in the form of ISIS or militias tied to the Iranian regime in Iraq) is only possibly through uniting people and anti-fundamentalist forces in the region. This is a war that has no answer in the battlefield without the complete participation of Sunnis and Sunni tribes. There can be no solution without the meaningful participation of the real representatives of the various Sunni factions in the Iraqi government. But, in order to realize that outcome, the Iranian regime and its militias must be evicted from Iraq. They are the obstacles to such participation, and they inspire sectarian war and religious killings.
8. What shortcomings does American policy have?
Maryam Rajavi: U.S. policy towards Iran and the entire Middle East suffers from lack of firmness toward the religious fascism ruling Iran, which is the central banker of terrorism and the godfather of ISIS. As a result, it hobbles from one mistake to the next. This happens for a number of basic reasons:
- The failure to realize the fundamental weakness and decaying of the Iranian regime;
- Lack of the minimum requisite understanding about the intensity of animosity harbored by the Iranian people towards the ruling regime, and the inability to see the massive social discontent;
- And, failure to recognize the role and potentials of the democratic alternative to this regime, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), which thanks to its pivotal member organization, the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), is the effective antithesis to fundamentalism and extremism masquerading as Islam.
9. What are your thoughts on fundamentalism and Islamic extremism and the reasons for its expansion?
Maryam Rajavi: Islamic fundamentalism, which in contrast to true Islam, is known for its characteristic religious dictatorship, misogyny, religious discrimination, inhumane punishments, and unimaginable deception, was born with the mullahs' regime in Iran in 1979. The mullahs proliferated this reactionary thought throughout the region starting three decades ago. These are characteristics that are exactly the same for fundamentalists under the Shiite banner and fundamentalists under the Sunni banner. The growth of fundamentalism, which has today manifested itself in ISIS, is culturally and historically the result of the proliferation of such ideology by the mullahs in Iran. From a political standpoint, the cruel suppression of Sunnis in Iraq by the Iranian-affiliated Iraqi government and their marginalization and widespread massacre of people in Syria, again at the hands of a dictatorship tied to the mullahs and the IRGC, created the breeding ground for this phenomenon.
But the solution to Islamic extremism lies in an alternative that is based on a democratic and tolerant Islam. In Iran, this alternative is represented by the MEK, which has been able to promote a pioneering role model for the entire region. This is one of the reasons for the 27 attacks and massacres of residents at Camp Ashraf and Camp Liberty, which have taken place in recent years at the hands of the mullahs and their puppet government in Iraq. The residents of Ashraf and Liberty are the representatives and advocates of such an alternative.
10. What is your assessment of Rouhani's one-year record in various arenas, specifically human rights in Iran? Have there been any changes?
Maryam Rajavi: Mullah Hassan Rouhani's sixteen-month record reveals a complete defeat for him and for the entire regime. More than 1,200 executions during his tenure, including hangings of juveniles, a slate of acid attacks and stabbings against women, detaining of lawyers, journalists, new Christian converts, Sunnis, Dervishes (a branch of Shiism) and Bahaiis, and the ratification of extremely suppressive laws are only a part of his record. In April, Rouhani personally defended the executions and said that they can be considered either as Islamic edicts or as man-made laws, and in both cases we are responsible for implementing them. In October, the regime's Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS), on his orders, actively defended the hanging of Reyhaneh Jabbari, a young woman who had defended herself against a man trying to rape her. In the second week of December, the Intelligence Minister, who is very close to Rouhani, proudly boasted about a list of dissidents his ministry was responsible for assassinating outside of Iran's borders.
Rouhani has also failed to deliver on his promises to improve the economy. The value of the country's currency is even lower than its lowest point during Ahmadinejad's tenure, the price of bread has increased to the highest level in Iran's history, official estimate put the number of starving people at 12 million, and two in five people are unemployed.
As a result, once more it has been proven that the hopes for the rise of a "moderate" inside the religious fascism is nothing but a mirage.
11. Your movement has had a central role in exposing the regime's nuclear program. What do you think is the nature of this program?
Maryam Rajavi: There is no doubt that the program entirely has military objectives. Since revelations about the existence of the secret sites in Arak and Natanz in 2002 until now, the Iranian Resistance has made over 100 documented revelations about sensitive and wide-ranging details of this program, all of which expose its military objectives.
The Iranian Resistance has in this way trapped the mullahs, even as western governments have for years offered incentives to the mullahs instead of adopting a firm stance, which has granted the mullahs an opportunity to expand their nuclear program.
But the role and activities of the Resistance have created an extensive social awareness inside Iran in protest to this program, depriving it of any sort of legitimacy whatsoever. On the basis of such public opposition, our movement seeks a non-nuclear Iran in its political platform.
12. Is Tehran still seeking a nuclear weapon?
Maryam Rajavi: The regime is certainly pursuing a nuclear weapon. In the course of the year-long negotiations in Geneva and Vienna, the P5+1 and the mullahs openly talked about a nuclear breakout capacity. Moreover, the mullahs have still not provided a complete list of their nuclear installations; they have not responded to IAEA questions about "explosive trigger tests" and "computer simulations related to nuclear explosions;" they are still not prepared to allow inspections of the Parchin site; and in the words of the UN nuclear watchdog, there are still no guarantees about the absence of "unannounced nuclear materials and activities." If the regime truly is not pursuing nuclear weapons, then what explains such resistance and obstructive behavior when it comes to the IAEA?
13. In your opinion, what elements should a nuclear agreement with the Iranian regime include and what elements should the West insist upon?
Maryam Rajavi: For the ruling regime in Iran to forego nuclear weapons, the following are necessary:
- The full implementation of UN Security Council resolutions, especially the complete halt of enrichment;
- Acceptance of the Additional Protocol;
- And, granting of free access for inspectors to the regime's suspicious installations and sites.
Anything less than this would leave open the regime's path toward obtaining a nuclear bomb.
14. What is your idea of a correct policy toward Tehran?
Maryam Rajavi: The correct policy is for the global community to stand with the Iranian people and the Iranian Resistance instead of appeasing the religious fascism. One of the prerequisites to this policy is making diplomatic and trade relations with the mullahs contingent upon an end to executions and torture, and putting an end to the regime's intransigence in the region.
So long as the mullahs have not been compelled to end execution and torture, they would neither forgo nuclear weapons nor their ambitions of domination and terrorism in the Middle East.
The other prerequisite for a correct policy is the recognition of the Iranian people's Resistance to bring about change in Iran.
In their confrontation against a decaying tyranny, the Iranian people have a democratic alternative with a clear platform that seeks a secular and pluralistic republic, gender equality, a society based on respect for human rights and the abolition of the death penalty, abdication of the mullahs' Sharia laws, providing equal economic opportunities to all, a non-nuclear Iran, and peace and co-existence with the rest of the world.
15. Would you agree with more sanctions on the regime?
Maryam Rajavi: The mullahs will only forgo their nuclear program, human rights violations and export of fundamentalism to the region if they are at the height of despair and desperation. Therefore, the pressure of sanctions on the regime must be increased. This is exactly the opposite of the mullahs' plan, who have put their focus on lifting of the sanctions.
But sanctions must include all financial, trade, oil, military and diplomatic aspects. Several UN Security Council resolutions, particularly UNSC Resolution 1929, have called for an arms embargo on the regime and the prohibition of all regime activities related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear warheads. And they permit all countries to inspect cargoes originating from or destined to Iran. But as a result of the policy of western governments, and especially the U.S., even these resolutions are not being implemented.
16. How do you see the prospects for change in Iran?
Maryam Rajavi: Change in Iran is inevitable. This is not only due to the crises gripping the mullahs, the regime's nuclear impasse, or the blows it has received in Iraq and Syria. Beyond all this, change is inevitable because of the intense social discontent in Iran and the social readiness to revive popular uprisings. This is the most important reason that explains why the mullahs have resorted to splashing acid on women's faces and why they have increased the number of executions to levels not seen in the last quarter of a century, not to mention the attacks and imposition of pressures against the Iranian Resistance and especially the residents of Camp Liberty.
The mullahs' regime in Iran represents the rule of a minority of less than 5 percent of the population that relies on sheer force. Without torture, daily executions, censorship, and complete control, they cannot remain in power even a day longer. But, this exceedingly wobbly and unstable situation is not at all sustainable.
As a former U.S. Ambassador to the UN for Human Rights, I can verify that the failure to address the horrific record of the Tehran regime will guarantee failure when dealing with a dictatorial regime like the mullahs have run in Iran since 1979. President Rajavi should be thanked for helping us as Americans return to our best traditions and our greatest success.
Ken Blackwell is the Senior Fellow for Family Empowerment at the Family Research Council. He serves on the board of directors of the Club for Growth and the National Taxpayers Union. He is also a member of the public affairs committee of the NRA. Mr. Blackwell is also the former Mayor of Cincinnati and a former Ambassador to the United Nations Human Rights Commission.

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Iran - Activist in jail for nearly two months without charges


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Mahdieh Golroo
Iranian activist Mahdieh Golroo has been under temporary arrest since October 21 and has not been charged with any formal offence, her family and lawyer report.
Golroo, a prominent women’s rights activist, was arrested in 2009 and released after 30 months in jail. She was arrested again about two months ago after she took part in a protest in front of Parliament calling for action against acid-throwing attacks on women.
Golroo’s home was reportedly raided by security forces following her arrest and many personal belongings such as her laptop and cell phone were confiscated.
Since her arrest, Golroo has been reportedly held in solitary confinement in the IRGC ward of Evin Prison.
Her family and lawyer are unaware of the charges against her, even though two months have elapsed since her arrest.
Golroo was expelled from university for her political activities. A member of the campaign team for Mehdi Karroubi’s 2009 run for president, she was arrested that December and sentenced to two and a half years in jail for the charge of “propaganda against the regime and assembly and collusion with intent to disturb national security.”

Palestinian shot after throwing acid at settler family

JERUSALEM (AFP) -- A Palestinian threw acid at a family of Israelis picking up a hitchhiker in the West Bank Friday before being shot and wounded, residents and the army said.
An Israeli army spokeswoman said that a vehicle carrying a family of five picked up a hitchhiker near the tunnel checkpoint between Bethlehem and Jerusalem.

"A vehicle carrying a family with four girls stopped to pick up a hitchhiker" near a checkpoint outside Bethlehem and close to the Gush Etzion settlement area, an army statement said.

A Palestinian man standing next to the hitchhiker threw acid at both him and the family when the car stopped, it said.

Initially the army said the attacker was a hitchhiker but later revised its statement.

Israeli news site Ynet said three young children aged 8-10 suffered light burn wounds and a 40-year-old man suffered burns to his face and eyes.

Another Israeli civilian shot the suspect in the leg as he fled, the Israeli spokeswoman added.

The suspect was identified as Jamal Abd al-Majid Ghayatha, 45, from the village of Nahalin.

Palestinian residents said he was mentally unstable and had received treatment at a mental health clinic in Bethlehem. He had been arrested before, they added.

He was taken to Hadassa hospital for treatment.

Failure of nuclear talks would be 'West's fault', Iranian regime official declares

The head of the Iranian regime’s Human Rights Council has said if the nuclear talks fail, it will be the fault of the West.
Mohammad Javad Larijani said that world powers are grasping at ‘every opportunity’ to put pressure on Iran in their negotiations with the regime.
He said at a conference on Tuesday on the effects of sanctions on regime’s economy: "If the negotiations fail, we assume that the conduct of the other side has brought such failure about.
"We are not optimistic about the extension of talks, and believe that the other side seeks every opportunity to mount pressure on Iran, which now has taken the form of low crude oil prices, targeting Iran’s oil incomes.
"We see the lower oil prices as a contrived plan by those who are responsible for failure of nuclear talks."
But on Wednesday, the last day of the third round of talks with the American delegation in Geneva, Deputy FM and senior negotiator of the Iranian regime, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, described the talks as 'detailed and extensive'.
He said: "The talks are proceeding in a good and respectful atmosphere, but it is still too soon to make a judgement about what the final outcome will be."
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif also said the talks were being conducted in a good atmosphere.
But a senior IRGC commander said world powers are trying to undermine Iran’s influence. The Deputy Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Brigadier General Massoud Jazayeri added: "We should not keep our hopes high on the outcomes of these talks."

ISIS beheads 150 women, some of them pregnant, for refusing to marry militants

Even as the world tries to come to terms with the dastardly terrorist attack in Pakistan's Peshawar and the 'lone wolf' attack in Sydney, reports are emerging of more violence by the Islamic State. This time they have reportedly beheaded women in Iraq for not marrying militants.
The Independent quotes Iraq's Ministry of Human Rights saying in a statement, "At least 150 females, including pregnant women, were executed in Fallujah by a militant named Abu Anas Al-Libi after they refused to accept jihad marriage."
Representational image. Reuters
Representational image. Reuters
This comes close on the heels of the incident when the extremists shot dead at least 50 men, women and children in the Iraq.
Not just people of Iraq, Islamic State has waged war against westerners as was seen in the several beheading videos published by the terrorist group in the last few months.
They executed Peter Kassig, a US aid worker kidnapped in Syria, on 16 November 2014 as a warning to the United States. The same video showed the gruesome simultaneous beheadings of at least 18 men described as Syrian military personnel.
Islamic State-linked Jund al-Khilifa, or "Soldiers of the Caliphate," claimed to have beheaded French tourist Herve Gourdel who was abducted in Algeria. The beheading was shown in a video posted online after Paris rejected an Islamic State demand to halt air strikes in Iraq.
Before that it was David Haines, a British aid worker, freelance reporter Steven Sotloff and US freelance photojournalist James Foley.
Known for its ruthless tactics and suicide bombers, ISIS has already controlled the Iraqi city of Fallujah for eleven months, and is also arguably the most capable force fighting President Bashar al-Assad inside Syria.
Its takeover of Mosul in June had prompted the United States to voice deep concern about the "extremely serious" situation and warn the jihadist Sunni group poses "a threat to the entire region".

Note from blogger : Regarding Iran and the paramilitary Basij Force

blogger  ' Editor ' JoeThe Basij, full name Sâzmân-e Basij-e Mostaz'afin (Persianسازمان بسیج مستضعفین‎, "The Organization for Mobilization of the Oppressed" is a paramilitary volunteer militia established in 1979 by order of the Islamic Revolution's leader Ayatollah Khomeini. The original organization comprised the civilian volunteers whom the Ayatollah Khomeini urged to fight in the Iran–Iraq war. The force consists of young Iranians who have volunteered, often in exchange for official benefits. Currently Basij serve as an auxiliary force engaged in activities such as internal security as well as law enforcement auxiliary, the providing of social service, organizing of public religious     ceremonies, and policing of morals and the suppression of dissident gatherings. Basij is the name of the force; a basiji is an individual member.
The Basij are set up as subordinate to, receiving their orders from, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and the current Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei to whom they are known for their loyalty. They have also been described as "a loosely allied group of organizations" including "many groups controlled by local clerics.They have a local organization in almost every city in Iran.