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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Iran: New chief appointed for secretive military unit |
| 2006-03-02 |
| Tehran, Iran, Mar. 01 – The Supreme Commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi appointed on Wednesday a senior commander in the Bassij as the new head of the IRGC’s secretive Ansar-ol-Mahdi Protection Corps. The announcement was made by the state-run ISNA news agency. The post was given to Abdol-Ali Najafi, a 45-year-old veteran IRGC Brigadier General and commander of the Bassij in Iran’s southern Fars province. Ansar-ol-Mahdi Corps is primarily responsible for the protection of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other top officials of the regime. But as an elite, secretive force within the IRGC, its officers are entrusted with many other special assignments, including those in the area of weapons of mass of destruction and terrorist activities beyond Iran’s borders. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #4 Old chief wasn't crazy enough, okay. |
| Posted by: Captain America 2006-03-02 18:52 |
| #3 It matters who pays the Praetorian Guard. If these boys are under RG loyal to the Pres, and the top Mullahs and he get into contention, they could instantly become assassins. I also gather that Khamenei is coming up for renewal of his "living god" status, and it is 50/50 whether he will be retained. Some mumblings suggest that the Pres would like to install his cult's guru to be the next living god, which would certainly clarify things. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2006-03-02 08:56 |
| #2 I worked with two Iranian programmers...they pulled my old listings out of the trash and used the code instead of writing their own. True socialists. |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2006-03-02 05:33 |
| #1 Oooh! A secret military unit! How scarrrry! And sooo secret that they issue a press release! Wowsers! Sheesh, wotta bunch. Y'know, I used to work with two Iranian programmers. They were intelligent. I guess the Iranian brain-drain was a total success. |
| Posted by: .com 2006-03-02 02:36 |