The Iranian cleric tightening Khamenei’s grip at home

{"text":[[{"start":7.74,"text":"It was an open secret in Tehran that Hossein Taeb, as head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ intelligence wing, had gone too far."}],[{"start":16.32,"text":"Critics within Iran’s regime accused the cleric, who ran the organisation from 2009 to 2022, of bending the intelligence services to his political ambitions, pursuing notorious cases against environmentalists and other domestic figures, and all the while failing to stop Israeli assassinations of nuclear scientists. Removed under former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Taeb spent years in political isolation."}],[{"start":42.84,"text":"Now, he is back, appointed by Khamenei’s son and successor Mojtaba to run the IRGC’s domestic Basij paramilitary as the regime turns to one of its most feared security figures to assert control at home."}],[{"start":56.8,"text":"Set up as a volunteer force after the 1979 revolution, the Basij have grown in prominence since the US and Israel launched their war against Iran in February. Many members of the Basij, which officials say number in the millions, have been armed with weapons taken home from IRGC bases during the bombardment."}],[{"start":75.46,"text":"They have set up checkpoints around cities and congregate nightly in squares. And authorities say yet more Iranians have signed up in mass-recruitment drives."}],[{"start":400.74,"text":"Analysts see Taeb’s elevation as one of Mojtaba Khamenei’s most consequential appointments, with the new supreme leader saying in a statement that Iran’s “new necessities and conditions” required him to “deepen and expand the culture of the Basij”."}],[{"start":401.24,"text":"This included expanding the Basij’s presence in neighbourhoods and mosques, something analysts interpreted as a move to increase surveillance and ease the regime’s ability to crack down in the future."}],[{"start":401.74,"text":"“Under the circumstances, he was the best security figure for the job, who knows how to deal with domestic threats,” said one regime insider close to hardline forces, who was previously critical of Taeb."}],[{"start":402.24,"text":"These threats, according to the insider, included separatist movements among ethnic minorities in border provinces, such as Kurdish groups; popular unrest over economic grievances; attempts to overthrow the theocracy by opposition groups; and the smuggling of communication equipment such as Starlink into the country."}],[{"start":402.74,"text":"“Iran is getting ready for a change of warfare,” the insider added. “US, Israeli and British intelligence services will try to weaken us domestically. We need to be prepared.”"}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":403.24,"text":"Fresh in the minds of Iran’s leaders are the protests that tore through the country in December and January — months after Israel’s 12-day war in June 2025 — which began over economic hardship before spiralling into the biggest anti-regime movement since the revolution."}],[{"start":403.74,"text":"Authorities blamed foreign agitators for the unrest and launched a brutal crackdown, saying that more than 3,000 people were killed during two peak days of unrest. Opposition groups and international human rights organisations overseas have put the death toll far higher."}],[{"start":404.24,"text":"There have been no signs of domestic unrest since the start of the war, but the US and Israel have at various points alluded to using either military force or economic coercion to bring about regime change."}],[{"start":404.74,"text":"Israel has in recent years demonstrated its intelligence services’ deep penetration of the regime, with everything from the 2018 seizure of Iran’s nuclear archive to assassinations of top leaders during both the 12-day war and the current conflict. And US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent this week announced expanded secondary sanctions on Iran in a campaign he said was designed to “collapse” the Islamic republic."}],[{"start":405.24,"text":"“The US has capitalised on its blockade [of Iranian ports] and hopes this will eventually persuade people to pour on to the streets,” said a relative of Taeb, by marriage, who is also close to the political system."}],[{"start":405.74,"text":"Taeb’s appointment “sends a message to the enemy . . . that it should not rely on domestic unrest because we have a madman in charge now”."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":406.24,"text":"In peacetime, Basij members — most of whom are unpaid, young regime loyalists — were often seen as an electoral force, a bloc whose size could potentially shift results in favour of hardliners."}],[{"start":406.74,"text":"But they could also come to the guards’ aid in times of crisis and street protests, and many Iranians have accused the Basij of helping to brutally suppress demonstrators, mostly in plain clothes."}],[{"start":407.24,"text":"The war, however, has given them new energy. Basij volunteers, armed at home for the first time since the early years after the revolution, are now authorised to begin defending the Islamic republic from their own doorsteps without seeking permission from commanders, according to people close to the regime."}],[{"start":407.74,"text":"“The Basij is moving towards greater co-ordination, to play a more significant security role in any future crisis,” said Saeed Laylaz, an analyst based in Tehran. This did not mean it will become more militaristic, he said. “But it will have greater authority and will become more agile.”"}],[{"start":408.24,"text":"Many members have been calling for revenge for the elder Khamenei, who was killed in the opening US-Israeli attacks, and have lashed out at the prospect of a deal with Washington."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":408.74,"text":"“If need be, and in the worst-case scenario, all those armed Basijs . . . can take control of cities,” said the relative. “They are more motivated than before. The war with the US and Israel, and holding weapons at home, has energised them.”"}],[{"start":409.24,"text":"Some Iranians fear that a bolstered Basij could seek to reverse some of the limited social freedoms granted by the regime in recent years, including a relaxation of its strict hijab laws for women and the growing ability for young people to socialise in cafés."}],[{"start":409.74,"text":"Iran’s hardline judicial officials have in recent weeks resorted to several measures to curb perceived dissent, including temporarily closing some coffee shops and handing prison sentences to activists and artists, including a female singer."}],[{"start":410.24,"text":"Politicians insist, however, that neither Taeb nor the regime plans a major crackdown over social issues."}],[{"start":410.74,"text":"The regime has also moved against figures whose rhetoric risks inflaming tensions. Ultra-hardline cleric Mohammad Bagher Kharrazi, who is a relative of the supreme leader, was arrested this month after calling on his supporters to kill women without hijab in the streets."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":411.24,"text":"For those who have experienced Taeb’s methods first-hand, however, his return provides an insight into how Mojtaba Khamenei plans to run the regime for the foreseeable future."}],[{"start":411.74,"text":"A reformist politician who was jailed while Taeb served as the guards’ intelligence chief, and knows him personally, said the cleric’s close relationship with the younger Khamenei dated back decades. “It’s a more personal appointment than political,” he said. “Even if there were no war, he would have got a top position.”"}],[{"start":396.64,"text":"That possibility worries those who fear Taeb could become a powerful influence over the new supreme leader, who has yet to appear publicly."}],[{"start":401.94,"text":"The insider, however, cautioned against drawing too many conclusions, arguing that it remains unclear what effect Taeb’s years in isolation have had on him and how much influence he will ultimately wield."}],[{"start":414.36,"text":"“Taeb is an ultra-hardliner who does not listen to anybody, but this does not mean ultra-hardliners are taking over the country’s future,” his relative said."}],[{"start":427.41,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1787814165_8963.mp3"}