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Rosie

Constitutionally and institutionally Sepah takes order from Khamenie and him only. And since they do not represent the so called [muscle] of the regime then that puts Khameine in a predicament[lack of better word].

The bail out was in fact for Iran-Khodroo.

//iranian.com/main/news/2009/07/31/billion-do...

-YT 

Cap'n /Khodro!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In my humble opinion, these small bickering among some of sepahs head goons, besides them being rather dog and pony show, it mostly resembles bunch of vulture bickering over the dead carcasses of animals

Well, yes, from bird's eye view (no pun intended, I swear), but from day to day point of view, if Sepaah is no longer loyal to AN, but Basij is, it is very relevant to the situation. AN promised to change 50% of his cabinet after the heaviest riots, and his first appointments were relatively 'liberal' so to say, and he got squashed. This was a very strong message from Khamenei about his intention to toe a very hard line to maintain control. I think...???

Anyway. I did not know Khodro was owned by the Basij and that the bailotu was for them. I did see the headline of Jahanshah's article but I didn't read the article. I think Khodro has the most active 'union' probably in the country now. since decimaton of Vahed and Haft Tapeh. Wow, that is veeery interesting, they have balls, don't they?.

Rosie

Your assertion is correct in regards to sepah's massive economical power in Iran.

All construction projects for instnace,  are auctioned off[bidding process] by Sepah. In another word, Sepah is the project owner of all major projects. Ones they can not perform they contract out to smaller engineering/sub contracting firm. Often with hefty bribes they ask for awarding the contracts.

In addition to infra-structure projects, when Ahmadinejad announced the so called privatization of main industries, Sepah was the entity who were given the factories at FRACTION of market price, In return for absolute loyalty and massive kick backs to Ahmadinejad, Khamenie and the gang.

In my humble opinion, these small bickering among some of sepahs head goons, besides them being rather dog and pony show, it mostly resembles bunch of vulture bickering over the dead carcasses of animals.

-YT 

Ostaad Jan

Exactly as you pointed out, Sepah has become the owner of 2/3 of Iran's massive economy, and baseej on the other hand has become[the fifth division] sort,which is the muscle.

There is one point though, Baseej has been expanding on their grip on economy as well, i.e. Iran Khodro, the largest auto manufacturer is owned and operated by baseej. For the life of me I have lost the track of an article I read regarding this item.

Sepah, as you mentioned on the other hand, has become so called [Brains] of the system and their loyalties is highly polarized. One thing I have gathered by talking to my family in Iran is how Ahmadinejad has polarized Iran's politics, in contrast to what it was say in the times of Khomeini and Khatami.

There was an article by JJ regarding $1 billion bail out Iran Khodro received last week, in spite of it being perhaps one of the most profitable of industries in Iran.

-YT 

What I understand is... (sorry Ostaad, cross-posted, I'll read)

that within the past two years the Sepaah and Baseej offically consolidated while simultaneously the Baseej expanded dramatically, with each member being told to try to recruit five new members. That would support what you said, being that, if I'm not mistaken, AN actually comes from the Baasij, not the Guards (please correct me, I may be wrong on that one).

All the same, it was Javani who made the threat shortly before the election that if Mousavi attempted a 'Velvet Revolution', he would be crushed. This would imply that the Sepaah would then have taken a very active role in quelling the demonstrations.

I also understand that the Guards is the owner of a huge amount of Iranian assets, operating many for-profit corporations. I don't know the percentage, maybe you do. (Someone here said two-thirds, that sounds highly unlikely...). I don't know how much of that is actually owned by Baseej or jointly if they have officially consolidated. But if the Guards themselves are so economically powerful, it is impossible that they would not be politically still very powerful too.

I am sure you know more than me but that is what I understand. Please comment.

Thanks.

Cap, that's a crucial distinction...

The distinction between the Baseej and the Sepaah are not known to many. I'm glad you brought it up.

There's a great article by Shahidsaless that Rosie has posted that talks about the Sepaah and Rezaie's role there. This is how I see the diff between thes two:

The Sepaah is a military-industrial entity, and the Baseej is a simple militia.  That means the Sepaah has all the engineers and computer guys and gals to support them, while the Baseej have all the clubs, chains and other crude instruments of violence.

Without going too much into the profound impact the Sepaah has on Iran's economy and security. My hunch is the Sepaah has realized they really don't need Ahamdinejad any more - he has become a kind of liability and lame duck president even before his "inauguration".

Khamenie and the Sepaah can handle the macro policies and Ahamdinejad will be limited to fixing the economy or his head will be on the chopping block. I don't think we'll hear about every stupid word Ahamdinejad utters for some time after the "tanghieh" ceremonies.

rosie

When I was  visiting Iran last, the conversation I had the most with my siblings were distinction between Sepah and the Baseej.

What I was hearing from them, who are politically active was the astonishing fact of how Ahmadinejad has, for all practical purposes dismantled the sepah which both constitutionally and institutionally take order from Khamenie and no one else.

Instead he[AN] has expanded the Baseej , under the direction from Mesbah Yazdi, both politically and economically. This has been AN's main source of power in butting heads with the rahbar.

This has lead me to beleive the reasons why the rahbar been rather intimidated by AN and why AN been so defiant of the rahbar[so to speak. Another point to mention is the fact that how Baseej been in charge of silencing the demonstrations as opposed to Sepah's role.

-YT