Iran’s Elections Engineered by Covert IRGC Arm, New Report Says

A covert arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) has been rigging elections and manipulating Iran's political landscape through a clandestine network of cultural and political operations, according to a new analysis by United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI).

Known as the Baqiatallah Headquarters, this apparatus works closely with the Intelligence Ministry to strategically influence the current snap election to replace former President Ebrahim Raisi, the NGO reports.

UANI says its report marks the first clear exposure of these methods of electoral manipulation.

Titled “Engineering Minds and Votes,” the 34-page report is based on original material from inside the IRGC's Baqiatallah Headquarters, including lectures, textbooks, written presentations, and speeches.

Kasra Aarabi, one of the study's authors, notes that the group was established in 2019 with the explicit objective of realizing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s vision of an "ideal Islamic government and society."

The group, connected to the Office of the Supreme Leader, leads an initiative as part of Khamenei’s broader five-stage doctrine to achieve this goal.

That reportedly involves a five-year plan aimed at creating a regime-led "insider civil society" by recruiting and training four million Iranians across 800,000 groups, designed to influence and control the population.

The report also reveals that the Baqiatallah Headquarters is connected to the Office of the Supreme Leader and leverages resources from other agencies to execute its comprehensive "Middle Ring" strategy.

The five-year plan aims to create a regime-led "insider civil society" by recruiting and training four million Iranians across 800,000 groups, designed to influence and control the population to achieve Khamenei’s doctrine.

While election rigging in the Islamic Republic is not new, most famously in 2009, Aarabi says that the IRGC’s Baqiatallah Headquarters has reached "unprecedented levels of electoral rigging" in recent years.

Using tactics such as election engineering and cultural manipulation to secure the regime’s preferred outcomes and suppress opposition, the shadowy group has reportedly been instrumental in executing Khamenei’s vision. Traditionally, the members of the Guardian Council, selected by the Supreme Leader, are in charge of candidate eligibility.

UANI’s analysis, however, shows that the Baqiatallah Headquarters is now a key player in controlling narratives, vetting candidates, intimidating voters, and manipulating vote counts.

Affiliates of the covert group take on roles in election monitoring and polling stations to directly influence outcomes.

Operating at a granular level, the Baqiatallah Headquarters plays a critical role in vetting candidates.

Agents gather detailed intelligence on potential candidates, file reports to the IRGC intelligence, which processes and shares the data with the Guardian Council for final candidate eligibility decisions.

The Headquarters also reportedly runs targeted smear campaigns against candidates not aligned with Khamenei's preferences, ensuring only loyal candidates are elected.

Additionally, it supports IRGC’s cyberspace operations, including trolling social media, spreading misinformation, creating divisions among opposition groups, and trending pro-regime hashtags.

During the March 2024 parliamentary vote, former Foreign Minister Javad Zarif was recorded implicating Mohammad Ali Jafari, the commander of the Baqiatallah Headquarters, in orchestrating election engineering.

Zarif disclosed that Jafari was "behind everything," including preparing the entire candidate list for the parliamentary elections.

The report calls for the US and its allies to immediately sanction the Baqiatallah Headquarters, its leadership, affiliates and apparatus.