IRGC General Says Protesters Are 'Enemy's Soldiers'

A senior Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander has said that those who chant “Woman, Life, Freedom” are the soldiers of the “enemy”, who wants to weaken Islam.

After the killing of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman by 'morality police' in September protests ignited across Iran with the slogan of "Woman, Life, Freedom."

General Mohammad Reza Naghdi (Naqdi) the deputy commander of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) who was speaking Friday at a gathering of officers in northern Iran, went on to blame enemies for a “media war” during the ongoing protests.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other top officials have been blaming the popular protests on conspiracies pursued by “enemies”, which usually mean the United States and its allies in the Islamic Republic’s jargon.

Naghdi said there is “a psychological war” being waged against the Islamic regime and the aim is “core religious beliefs” including the principle of a clerical supreme leader ruling over the Islamic nation, or ‘umma’. The IRGC general claimed that the majority of the Iranian people stand behind the regime, without mentioning the more than 400 protesters killed since mid-September.

However, he repeated officials claims that unknown individuals are killing innocent people to blame the government, while hundreds of videos on social media show security forces using indiscriminate violence in the streets.

Complaining about sanctions, Naghdi insisted that the majority of the people are ready to support the government to overcome economic hardships.

He also praised Jihadi volunteers, who act as plainclothes agents during the protests and are often responsible for killing and injuring civilians.