On Tue, Mar 17, 2026 at 5:54 PM Murtaza Hussain < [email protected]> wrote:
> Israel assassinated the head of the Basij and has been bombing its > checkpoints across Iran. > ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ > ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ > ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ > ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ > ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ > ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ > ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ > ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ > ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ > ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ > ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ > ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ > ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ > ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ > ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ > ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ > ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ > ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ > ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ > > Israel assassinated the head of the Basij and has been bombing its > checkpoints across Iran. > > Drop Site News <https://substack.com/@dropsitenews> > Mar 17 > <https://substack.com/@dropsitenews> > > > <https://substack.com/app-link/post?publication_id=2510348&post_id=191306589&utm_source=substack&isFreemail=true&submitLike=true&token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjoxMDc0NTQxODIsInBvc3RfaWQiOjE5MTMwNjU4OSwicmVhY3Rpb24iOiLinaQiLCJpYXQiOjE3NzM3ODQ0MzMsImV4cCI6MTc3NjM3NjQzMywiaXNzIjoicHViLTI1MTAzNDgiLCJzdWIiOiJyZWFjdGlvbiJ9.tFFs0P9NHX7F5dk-E3ryCfAd4BMjumqFGR-ANzhdV4M&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=email-reaction&r=1rz46e> > > <https://substack.com/app-link/post?publication_id=2510348&post_id=191306589&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&isFreemail=true&comments=true&token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjoxMDc0NTQxODIsInBvc3RfaWQiOjE5MTMwNjU4OSwiaWF0IjoxNzczNzg0NDMzLCJleHAiOjE3NzYzNzY0MzMsImlzcyI6InB1Yi0yNTEwMzQ4Iiwic3ViIjoicG9zdC1yZWFjdGlvbiJ9.B8M8MkXjj0adA_-J34eTqjOAOsoh5wHakmrMBJ9A0GM&r=1rz46e&utm_campaign=email-half-magic-comments&action=post-comment&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email> > > <https://substack.com/app-link/post?publication_id=2510348&post_id=191306589&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&utm_campaign=email-share&action=share&triggerShare=true&isFreemail=true&r=1rz46e&token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjoxMDc0NTQxODIsInBvc3RfaWQiOjE5MTMwNjU4OSwiaWF0IjoxNzczNzg0NDMzLCJleHAiOjE3NzYzNzY0MzMsImlzcyI6InB1Yi0yNTEwMzQ4Iiwic3ViIjoicG9zdC1yZWFjdGlvbiJ9.B8M8MkXjj0adA_-J34eTqjOAOsoh5wHakmrMBJ9A0GM> > > <https://substack.com/redirect/2/eyJlIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9vcGVuLnN1YnN0YWNrLmNvbS9wdWIvZHJvcHNpdGVuZXdzL3AvaXJhbi13YXItaXNyYWVsLXVwcmlzaW5nLWJhc2lqLW1pbGl0aWEtYXNzYXNzaW5hdGlvbnM_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.HyzEsJtwuUAdwuGM17jV0G5kJl4jiCyJROZH1mbSvWU?&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email> > > READ IN APP > <https://open.substack.com/pub/dropsitenews/p/iran-war-israel-uprising-basij-militia-assassinations?utm_source=email&redirect=app-store&utm_campaign=email-read-in-app> > > > The Israeli military announced Tuesday that it had carried out an > airstrike in Tehran assassinating the commander of the paramilitary Basij > force, Gholamreza Soleimani. The Basij, otherwise known as the Basij-e > Mostazafin, or “Mobilization of the Oppression” are a volunteer militia > operating under the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) that is > critical to the Islamic Republic’s internal security and has been blamed > for carrying out some of its most extreme domestic oppression. > > The strike came on the same day Israel assassinated Ali Larijani, the head > of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and a leading political figure > in the country. Soleimani was killed along with several other Basij > commanders in a separate strike on a combat tent encampment in the city, > part of a bombing campaign targeting police stations, checkpoints, > roadblocks, and other sites associated with the Basij. > > Israel has publicly said these bombings are aimed at provoking a > revolution or coup via aerial bombardment. The Israeli military claimed > <https://substack.com/redirect/1653c2c2-1f3f-4057-9613-dfaefe569329?j=eyJ1IjoiMXJ6NDZlIn0.vwFUUWXitToCG6lkdgIOEZJA0yByKrMNCn3mtPeVIW4> > it targeted ten Basij posts in Tehran on Tuesday and released a video > <https://substack.com/redirect/837d8cda-5b29-48b9-afe5-e4c90d67f73b?j=eyJ1IjoiMXJ6NDZlIn0.vwFUUWXitToCG6lkdgIOEZJA0yByKrMNCn3mtPeVIW4> > of a strike targeting a checkpoint on a busy thoroughfare in the > capital—firing a missile at what it called “Basij soldiers,” while a > civilian bus and other traffic were directly passing through the area. > > After the killing of Ali Khamenei and the naming of his son, Mojtaba, as > the next Supreme Leader, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. > President Donald Trump called on the Iranian people to revolt—portraying > their own attacks on the country as an operation intended to clear the way > for an uprising. Former Iranian crown prince Reza Pahlavi has also issued > calls for individuals inside Iran to rise up and topple the government. > > Trump has since taken a more ambiguous view of his endgame in Iran, > however, and on Tuesday the Washington Post reported on a State Department > cable circulated by the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem claiming that Iranian > protestors would “get slaughtered” if they launched an uprising. The cable > stated that the Israeli assessment is that the Iranian government is > willing to “fight to the end” and maintains continued capacities to rule > and suppress internal dissent. > > The Basij, established by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini after the 1979 > revolution, claims millions of registered volunteers and maintains units > embedded across workplaces, universities, and neighborhoods throughout the > country, though its actual numbers are likely smaller. They are widely > known for carrying out waves of violence targeting internal > dissenters—including a brutal crackdown on nationwide protests in response > to the death in police custody of a Kurdish-Iranian woman named Mahsa Amini > in 2022, as well as involvement in the killing of thousands of opponents of > the Iranian government during the most recent uprising in January. In these > episodes, as well as previous incidents of unrest, Basij units were > deployed alongside police and Revolutionary Guard forces to disperse > demonstrations, conduct arrests, and maintain neighborhood surveillance. > > The following dispatch, filed by a reporter in Tehran, features interviews > with members of the Basij as the U.S. and Israel continue their relentless > bombing. If people do rise up against the government inside Iran, the Basij > have vowed to forcefully confront anyone they see as supporting the U.S. > and Israel. The interviews occurred before Soleimani’s killing. The > reporter asked to remain anonymous for security reasons. > > —Murtaza Hussain > Upgrade to paid > <https://substack.com/redirect/2/eyJlIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZHJvcHNpdGVuZXdzLmNvbS9zdWJzY3JpYmU_dXRtX3NvdXJjZT1wb3N0JnV0bV9jYW1wYWlnbj1lbWFpbC1jaGVja291dCZuZXh0PWh0dHBzJTNBJTJGJTJGd3d3LmRyb3BzaXRlbmV3cy5jb20lMkZwJTJGaXJhbi13YXItaXNyYWVsLXVwcmlzaW5nLWJhc2lqLW1pbGl0aWEtYXNzYXNzaW5hdGlvbnMmcj0xcno0NmUmdG9rZW49ZXlKMWMyVnlYMmxrSWpveE1EYzBOVFF4T0RJc0ltbGhkQ0k2TVRjM016YzRORFF6TXl3aVpYaHdJam94TnpjMk16YzJORE16TENKcGMzTWlPaUp3ZFdJdE1qVXhNRE0wT0NJc0luTjFZaUk2SW1Ob1pXTnJiM1YwSW4wLktrNG91QVYxMlgzQ0Jqc1F5amh5R25SYzZ2TjZuR2UwTjVpSkE2UzNtX28iLCJwIjoxOTEzMDY1ODksInMiOjI1MTAzNDgsImYiOnRydWUsInUiOjEwNzQ1NDE4MiwiaWF0IjoxNzczNzg0NDMzLCJleHAiOjIwODkzNjA0MzMsImlzcyI6InB1Yi0wIiwic3ViIjoibGluay1yZWRpcmVjdCJ9.oBi0rRsDyiZ-gKB8h7sXzGoihCpJNgP3DPkcga_iOuQ?&utm_medium=email&utm_source=subscribe-widget&utm_content=191306589> > > <https://substack.com/redirect/828231c8-3cd7-4b9d-b694-38d7355b0049?j=eyJ1IjoiMXJ6NDZlIn0.vwFUUWXitToCG6lkdgIOEZJA0yByKrMNCn3mtPeVIW4> > On > Tuesday, the Israeli Air Force posted video of a strike it said targeted > Basij militias in Tehran. The strike hit in one lane of a busy street as a > bus passed by. > > *Story by a correspondent in Tehran* > > TEHRAN, IRAN—”We have to protect our sacred Islamic Revolution,” said > Amir, a 29-year member of the Basij manning a checkpoint in Tehran on > Saturday who joined the organization as a student in order to help defend > the government. “I don’t care what the people think of us. Our Imam, and > our Leader have said that protecting the Islamic Republic is the most vital > thing we have to do, so we are protecting it however we can,” he said. > > Amir and his friends have been stationed at the checkpoint since last > week. They are armed with assault rifles and check every vehicle that > passes for suspicious items, as the state braces itself against the threat > of an internal uprising. > > The checkpoints remind many Tehran residents of those set up by Basij in > years past, when the group was primarily responsible for enforcing—often > violently—the Islamic Republic’s strict morality codes. The group’s members > were notorious for accosting women caught in public without religious > headscarves, as well as policing the possession of contraband, including > alcohol, while intimidating members of the public with their weaponry and > authority to intervene in their lives. > > Today, instead of attempting to enforce the increasingly relaxed morality > codes of the government, the Basij are looking for weapons and Starlink > equipment, used for internet connection during widespread and frequent > blackouts. During the January uprising, the U.S. helped smuggle > <https://substack.com/redirect/d63809e4-e91e-4b20-a4a0-10d5f767e838?j=eyJ1IjoiMXJ6NDZlIn0.vwFUUWXitToCG6lkdgIOEZJA0yByKrMNCn3mtPeVIW4> > thousands of Starlink devices to help encourage opponents of the government > to organize. > > Since the war began, the Islamic Republic has held large state-approved > public demonstrations in cities across the country to both rally support > and signal in a concrete way that it has a base who are ready to retaliate > against an uprising that they believe is being encouraged from abroad. > “Your presence in the streets has bewildered and enraged the enemy. This > humble soldier of yours has three requests from you: the streets, the > streets, the streets,” said Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of the > Iranian parliament. “Your children in the armed forces have taken their > lives in hand to defend Iran; strengthen their backs by holding the streets > firm.” > > The demonstrations have shown a degree of support among a significant > sector of the Iranian public, but the government does not permit > counterdemonstrations during wartime and the Basij, now mobilized > throughout the capital, threaten to meet them with violence. > > Amir described Tehran as a place that he loves and that shaped him as a > person. But when asked how he feels that the city is under constant heavy > bombardments, he told Drop Site that he “doesn’t care about Tehran right > now.” He added, “Buildings can be rebuilt. Ideologies can’t. What matters > to me the most is protecting the Islamic Revolution, and annihilating the > evil Zionist regime off of the face of earth,” he said. > > Like many members of the Basij, he also expressed a willingness to die in > a coming confrontation. > > “If I’m about to die, I’d rather die like my guide and leader, the great > Khamenei,” he said. “There is nothing in this world I’d cherish more than > martyrdom.” > *“We are at war”* > > While the Basij was originally imagined purely as a defense against > external aggression, the kind of help that it has provided to the state has > changed drastically in over the past two decades as it has transformed into > a paramilitary group that is tasked with suppressing Iranian protesters—or > “rioters,” as members put it to Drop Site—during periods of domestic unrest. > > Passing through Basij checkpoints is often a terrifying experience for > people in Tehran, as individual members of the militia are empowered to > detain individuals on suspicion of espionage or working for a foreign > intelligence agency. > > Sina, a 21-year old member of the Basij force, who is also out on the > streets at another checkpoint, says he is “ready to shoot at anyone who’d > come out on the streets” in response to calls from Israeli or Reza Pahlavi > to revolt. > > “I don’t see anyone on the streets now and that is a good thing. We are at > war right now. This is no time to protest against the system. That can > happen later. Right now, anyone I’d see on the streets of Tehran, I’d > immediately shoot. These won’t be protesters. These guys would be the > agents of the enemy. They’d answer the Zionist regime and Pahlavi’s calls. > They certainly strike me as the enemy. We stand ready to shoot them,” Sina > told Drop Site. > > Sina expressed the same willingness as Amir to be killed for the cause of > defending Iran and fighting the Israeli and American attack on the country. > > “I’d rather die a martyr than to be alive and witness the Islamic Republic > being—God forbid” said Sina. “Now, the child-killer Netanyahu says he wants > to provide a condition for an uprising in Iran. Over my dead body.” > > This uncompromising message of being willing to kill and die to protect > the government from an existential threat line was echoed in a March 10 > interview with Tehran’s Police Chief, Ahmad Reza Radan. During the > interview, Radan said ”We don’t see people who come to the streets at the > request of the enemy as protesters anymore, we see them as the enemy, and > we deal with them just like we deal with the enemy. Our forces stand ready > to shoot, to protect the Revolution.” > > Since Radan issued that call, Tehran, already reeling from Israeli and > American attacks, has felt like a soulless city. The normal bustle of > commerce and social life—already heavily suppressed by the war—has come to > a total standstill as people avoid unnecessary outings out of fear of both > bombings, and the threat of an uprising and government crackdown that could > target anyone. > > Iranians, still bracing from the trauma of the violence in January that > killed thousands, now face the prospect of both external aggression and > renewed domestic infighting that many fear could lead to civil war. > > Leave a comment > <https://substack.com/app-link/post?publication_id=2510348&post_id=191306589&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&isFreemail=true&comments=true&token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjoxMDc0NTQxODIsInBvc3RfaWQiOjE5MTMwNjU4OSwiaWF0IjoxNzczNzg0NDMzLCJleHAiOjE3NzYzNzY0MzMsImlzcyI6InB1Yi0yNTEwMzQ4Iiwic3ViIjoicG9zdC1yZWFjdGlvbiJ9.B8M8MkXjj0adA_-J34eTqjOAOsoh5wHakmrMBJ9A0GM&r=1rz46e&utm_campaign=email-half-magic-comments&action=post-comment> > > > > -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#41155): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/41155 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/118375581/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. #4 Do not exceed five posts a day. -=-=- Group Owner: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/13617172/21656/1316126222/xyzzy [[email protected]] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
