Word: iran
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...Talk to Iran...
...picture of U.S. envoy Dennis Ross as presented in "The Final Countdown" is frightening [June 15]. Ross should not have been placed in charge of dealings with Iran. His close connection with the largely anti-Iran organization American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is well known. Despite Obama's seeming change in course on Iran, Ross continues to endanger the U.S. and the Middle East by pursuing the hostile neoconservative agenda on Iran active in the Bush Administration. William Beeman, MINNEAPOLIS...
Both the Basij and the Revolutionary Guards Corps (or Sepah) were founded in the first year of the Islamic republic in 1979, following a decree by Iran's first Supreme Leader, Ayatullah Ruhollah Khomeini. "From the start, the Sepah was about building a popular army, one that had the duty to protect the Islamic republic from within," explains Moshen Sazegara, a founder of the Revolutionary Guards who later fell out with the regime and currently resides and works as a journalist...
Today the Sepah is estimated to have 125,000 forces, while the Basij - which by Imam Khomeini's initial intentions was to comprise "20 million" - is estimated to number up to 6 million and is active in most cities, towns and villages across Iran. The majority of Basijis are involved in volunteer services at mosques...
...There are many Basijis who were in support of Mousavi," says an Iran-based analyst who was previously an active member of the Basij and who requested anonymity. "Many Basijis are upset that the recent violence has been attributed to them...