Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Tehran 'purges 4,000 guards'

Safa Haeri
Sunday 17 July 1994 23:02 BST
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.

The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.

Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.

THE IRANIAN authorities are reported to have sent some 4,000 Pasdaran (Revolutionary Guards) officers into retirement, writes Safa Haeri.

The unprecedented decision, reported in Jomhuri Eslami newspaper, is being seen as the biggest purge among Iran's 'Praetorian Guard' in the 15 years of the Islamic regime. The Revolutionary Guard numbers up to 350,000 men.

'This is the first time since the victory of the Islamists in Iran that such a staggering number of Revolutionary Guards officers have retired,' said one source with access to the Iranian armed forces. 'It is an indication that the intelligence services might have discovered a plot.'

The purge follows months of unrest in Iran and experts believe it is part of a power struggle between President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and the religious leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who now rules Iran unchallenged. The fact that the news was published in Jomhuri Eslami indicates that the purged officers were followers of President Rafsanjani, as the paper is controlled by the Ayatollah.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in