IRGC-linked company employs Afghan militants in Chabahar port southeast of Iran

An Iranian company affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has employed Afghan fighters from the Fatemiyoun group and other former Afghan military personnel.

The Fatemiyoun Brigade, operating under the Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guards, is composed of Afghan immigrants living in Iran and has been actively involved in the Syrian conflict in recent years. Iran's recruitment tactics have faced criticism, with observers and human rights activists condemning the exploitation of Afghan refugees to draw them into regional conflicts, including the ongoing war in Syria.

According to a report by the Haalvash, a human rights organization that focuses on Sistan-Baluchestan province, the Arshin Kooh company, under the control of the IRGC Aerospace Organization, is engaged in producing precast concrete walls and constructing roads in the Beris area of Chabahar, a strategic port on the Sea of Oman.

“The company has hired Afghan militants, including those from the Fatemiyoun militia, to work on these projects,” wrote Haalvash.

The report reveals that after the exposure of these practices, senior IRGC officials ordered the transfer of many of these Afghan workers from Chabahar to Negur, a nearby region.

The Afghan forces' supervisor, identified as Hekmat, a member of the Fatemiyoun group, has reportedly signed a lucrative monthly contract worth 10 billion rials (over 16,000$) with Arshin Kooh for the maintenance and repair of machinery, employing at least 20 workers under his command.

In addition to the machinery contract, Hekmat is said to oversee at least 50 workers in the concrete wall section, earning 600 million rials (1,000$) per day.

This figure contrasts with the meager wages paid to local Baluch workers, who face discrimination in both hiring and pay. According to the report, Baluch truck drivers earn just 240 million rials ($400) for 24 days of work, while non-local drivers receive 360 million rials ($600) for the same period.

According to this report, in addition to Afghan Shiites who have been directly or indirectly recruited into the Fatemiyoun group or its subsidiaries, Afghan Sunni military migrants have also been employed by the Basij militia after receiving special identification cards.

The IRGC's recruitment of Afghan Fatemiyoun militants comes at a time when the Islamic Republic has declared the presence of Afghan migrants in Sistan-Baluchestan province illegal, routinely arresting and deporting dozens of Afghan migrants from the region daily.

The use of Afghan fighters is part of the Iranian government's broader strategy to entrench its proxy militias within Iran's economic and educational sectors. This policy is not limited to Afghan militants; Tehran has also increased the admission of members Hashd al-Shaabi, another Iranian-backed Shiite militia in Iraq, into Tehran University without requiring entrance exams.

The Hashd al-Shaabi, also known as the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), was established in 2014 following a religious decree (fatwa) issued by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani to combat ISIS. At the time, ISIS had taken control of four Iraqi governorates and posed a significant threat to Baghdad. The PMF was formed as an umbrella organization for various militia groups, primarily Shia, to support the Iraqi government in its fight against ISIS.

The admissions by the Tehran University, promoted under the guise of academic education, further embed the Islamic Republic's foreign militias into Iranian society while denying local citizens equal opportunities.

The President of the University of Tehran, speaking about the "doubling" of foreign student admissions, particularly Iraqi students, stated that the members of Hashd al-Shaabi include the children of living, deceased, and injured forces of the "resistance front."

Moghimi described the members of Hashd al-Shaabi as deserving individuals due to their efforts to "promote Islamic ideals" and said, "We do not provide military training. At this university, we offer them academic education in the field of management so that they can later play a role in managing their own country."