Iran International
The Mayor of Tehran's persistence in constructing a mosque at one of the capital's parks, despite public objections, may be linked to the Basij militia's involvement in quelling anti-government protests.
The Mayor, hardliner Alireza Zakani, along with other officials, say the construction of a mosque at Gheytarieh Park is in response to "popular demand" for providing places of worship for park users. The officials have also argued that the mosque would not significantly limit the park's space – nor would it harm its several-hundred-year-old trees.
Critics however, say there are already numerous mosques near the park, frequented by only a few worshippers during prayers. Some religious figures and activists have vehemently opposed Mayor Zakani's plans, particularly his intention to build mosques in all of the capital's parks.
“Building mosques is a community act of faith, not a municipal duty … Building parks, building highways, developing urban systems, optimizing roads, etc., are the duties of the municipality, which, praised be God, it does awfully little for,” Seyed Saeed Lavasani, a former Friday prayer Imam of Lavasan in northern Tehran tweeted on X.
One of the reasons cited by critics for the mayor’s insistence that mosques need to be built in parks stands out from the rest: a behind-the-scenes agreement between the mayor and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) and other authorities to expand the network of mosques, as well as the Basij militia bases stationed at them, across the capital.
People opposed to construction of the mosque at Gheytarieh Park measure the girth of the trees that have to be felled.
The Basij paramilitary force, which operates under IRGC command, has always been at the forefront in suppressing anti-government protests, alongside other security forces.
Didban-e Iran news website in an article entitled “Demystification of Construction of a Mosque at Gheytarieh Park of Tehran” contended that the mayor’s zeal in building mosques drives from an agreement with the IRGC to provide more bases for housing Basij forces.
Instead of paying attention to the poor southern areas of the city, the Mayor of Tehran has begun plans to expand the network of mosques in the northern areas of the capital where public discontent is at its greatest,” the article read.
While arguing that construction of a mosque in Gheytarieh park without the consent of the public would backfire and make them hate Islam – and mosques as its most important symbol – Abolfazl Najafi-Tehrani, a cleric and social media activist, alleged that Zakani’s real plan is “to build Basij bases under the guise of the mosque”.
Mosques have played an important role in the security structure of the country since the Islamic Revolution of 1979. Many mosques across the country have previously housed the paramilitary Basij militia.
The militia, which recruited civilian volunteers from mosques to fight in the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988) and acted as neighborhood police, was established by the order of the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, soon after the Revolution.
Until their dissolution in 1991, committees of the Islamic Revolution, also established in 1979 by Khomeini’s order, were also often stationed at mosques. Until their dissolution in 1991, they also took on the role of police and secret service in conjunction with security forces including the Revolutionary Guards, police, intelligence ministry, and Basij.
In the past few years, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards officials, particularly Brigadier General Hasan Hassanzadeh – commander of Mohammad Rasulullah Corps in Tehran Province – have often spoken of the implementation of a plan to “create Islamic neighborhoods” centered around mosques. In July 2023, Hassanzadeh said the plan, which was projected in 2017, had been implemented in 700 of the capital’s neighborhoods.
“Mosques and Basij Resistance bases should play a greater role in the cohesion of neighborhoods. The function of a mosque should not be confined to purely religious activities and their focus must include cultural and social functions alongside religious and devotional ceremonies,” he said.
Hassanzadeh has met with the mayor of Tehran several times in the past couple of years to discuss the municipality’s cooperation with the Basij.
In November 2021, addressing the members of Tehran City Council, Hassanzadeh said the Basij had 2,500 bases in Tehran and underlined the importance of “Islamic neighborhoods” and utilizing the “astonishing potentials of the Basij”.
In the same speech, he complimented Zakani, a former head of the Student Basij in universities, as “the most Basiji mayor of Tehran since the Revolution”.
The Security Council held an emergency meeting on Tuesday to discuss the attack, which Israel has not officially taken responsibility for.
The strike on Monday - that Iran said killed two of its IRGC Quds Force generals and five other officers of the extra-territorial unit - marked one of the most significant attacks yet on Iranian interests in Syria, where Israel has stepped up a long-running campaign against Iran.
"We will not hesitate to defend our personnel and repeat our prior warnings to Iran and its proxies not to take advantage of the situation - again, an attack in which we had no involvement or advanced knowledge - to resume their attacks on U.S. personnel," said deputy US Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood.
Attacks by Iran-backed proxies against US troops based in Iraq and Syria stopped in February after Washington retaliated for the killing of three US troops in Jordan with dozens of airstrikes on targets in Syria and Iraq linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) and militias that it supports.
Wood also slammed the aggressive tactics used by Iran and its proxies. "The United States has repeatedly warned Iran not to take advantage of the situation to escalate its longstanding proxy war against Israel and other actors," he told the Security Council.
Iran has ignored that warning. Terrorists and other armed groups, some backed by the Syrian regime and Iran, have used Syrian territory to plot and launch attacks on Israel and U.S. facilities and personnel.
Iran told the 15-member Security Council that it reserves the right "to take a decisive response" to the attack, accusing Israel of violating the founding UN Charter, international law, and the inviolability of diplomatic and consular premises.
"The United States is responsible for all crimes committed by the Israeli regime," said Iran's deputy UN Ambassador Zahra Ershadi, accusing the US of trying to destabilize Syria and the region and calling it out for supporting Israel in its war with Palestinian militants Hamas. She added that Israel is seeking to escalate tensions in the region while avoiding full responsibility for its actions.
Ershadi called on the Security Council to condemn the attack on Iran's diplomatic premises in Damascus. Wood said that Washington does not yet have confirmation of the status of the building that was struck in Damascus.
"Any confirmed attack on property that was in fact a diplomatic facility would be of concern to the United States," he said. "Diplomatic missions and their property, as well as official diplomatic residences must be protected, even and especially in times of armed conflict."
Iran has fully supported Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel and has vowed to continue assisting the “Resistance Front”, until the destruction of the Jewish state. Iran’s Resistance Front is a collection of armed and militant groups in the region, stretching from Iraq to Lebanon and Yemen.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres earlier on Tuesday condemned the attack in Damascus, calling on "all concerned to exercise utmost restraint and avoid further escalation," UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.
"He cautions that any miscalculation could lead to broader conflict in an already volatile region, with devastating consequences for civilians who are already seeing unprecedented suffering in Syria, Lebanon, the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and the broader Middle East," said Dujarric.
However, Monday’s airstrike coincided with a public holiday for Iranian officials, who commemorate the death anniversary of the first Shiite Islamic Imam, and the embassy should have been closed. The IRGC officers present on the premises were not diplomats and were reportedly holding a military meeting.
Although Israel has not taken responsibility for the strike, Iran International sources say it was an Israeli operation.
With reporting by Reuters
Zeraati was stabbed outside his residence in Wimbledon, south London, on March 29, and sustained injuries to his leg. He was discharged from hospital on Sunday.
According to a statement by the Metropolitan Police, the motive for the assault remains unclear. However, due to prior threats against Iran International journalists, the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command is spearheading the investigation. The attack occurred just a few months after a plot by the Iranian regime to kill 2 other Iran International journalists was revealed.
Detectives investigating the stabbing said they have identified three suspects in the case, but did not disclose their identities. Zeraati was approached by two men before being attacked. The assailants then escaped the scene in a blue Mazda 3 driven by a third accomplice. Their getaway vehicle, however, proved to be their undoing. Police located the abandoned car in New Malden and are currently conducting a forensic examination.
Authorities discovered that the suspects, instead of lying low, made a beeline straight for Heathrow Airport and vanished from the UK within a few hours of the attack.
"We've identified three suspects who we believe left the country shortly after the incident," revealed Commander Dominic Murphy, Head of the Met's Counter Terrorism Command.
The investigation, which included extensive CCTV analysis and inquiries, led the detectives to the abandoned vehicle, he added. “Detectives trawled CCTV and made extensive enquiries resulting in the identification and recovery of a vehicle used by the suspects to leave the scene. We have established that after abandoning the vehicle, the suspects travelled to Heathrow Airport and have left the UK. We are now working with international partners to establish further details.”
Commander Murphy said they are still in the early stage of the investigation, stressing that all possibilities are being considered, and no definitive reason for the attack has been established yet.
The incident has understandably caused significant concern “for local people and all those impacted, "Murphy admitted, adding that they have increased police patrols in Wimbledon and other key areas across London.
Many activists and human rights and journalist unions have raised concerns about the incident, calling for action to confront and deter the regime in Tehran from expanding its malign activities.
Activist Masih Alinejad, herself a victim of an assassination plot by Iran, said the attack on Zeraati must be “a wake-up call for the UK.” This attack on Zeraati was a sinister message from the Islamic Republic she said: "If you are a dissident, then you are not safe, no matter how far from Iran's borders you may be, she said in her opinion piece."
Iran International’s journalists have long been a target for the regime for their coverage of Iran, and the platform it provides to critics and human rights activists.
In November 2022, the London Police provided protection to Iran International’s offices, acting upon credible intelligence about real threats against two of its journalists based in London.
In early 2023, the network had to temporarily shut down operations in London and move its broadcasting studios to Washington DC. In September, operations resumed at a new location in London. A man surveilling the previous London office was arrested by the police in February 2023. The Central Criminal Court of England sentenced him in December for gathering information on Iran International's London headquarters to 3.5 years behind bars.
Former Iranian security chief Ali Shamkhani tweeted that Israel has acted as the United States' proxy army in the region, labeling the strike as foolishness for which Israel should face severe consequences. He vowed that Iran would retaliate regardless of whether the United States was aware of the strike beforehand.
IRGC General Esmail Kowsari, a member of the Iranian parliament, has stated that Israel's attack on Iran's consulate in Damascus constitutes an invasion of Iranian territory, warranting a serious response from Iran. He dismissed the notion of "strategic patience" in the face of such aggression, emphasizing that Iran will not hesitate to retaliate against Israel.
Kowsari also underscored that the United States should anticipate Iran's response, cautioning Israel against further attacks on Iran's interests. He reiterated Iran's stance regarding its military presence in Syria, emphasizing that Iranian personnel are there at the request of the Syrian government. When asked about the nature of Iran's retaliatory measures, Kowsari stated that such decisions lie with Iran's policymakers and military commanders. However, he declined to confirm whether Iran plans to target Israel's diplomatic missions in other countries.
However, international lawyer Reza Nasri clarified in an interview in Tehran that while the attack on the consulate was illegitimate and violated international law and regulations, it is inaccurate to consider embassies and consulates abroad as extensions of the country's sovereign territory.
Two IRGC generals and five other IRGC officers were killed in the attack on Monday. Subsequently, reports from Iran say that regime supporters in at least in the two cities of Tehran and Sari, have called for serious military strikes on Israel in retaliation for the attack.
In another development, former lawmaker Ali Motahari asked why in a volatile situation in Syria so many high-ranking military officers were taking part in a high-profile meeting. Alireza Pakfetrat, a lawmaker from Shiraz, also reiterated that it is not clear why such a meeting was held while Israel clearly has access to intelligence about the gatherings of Iranian officers in Syria. He suggested that such meetings should be held in a country other than Syria.
Another Iranian lawmaker, Mansour Haqiqatpoor, echoed the sentiment, stating, "Iran is prepared to deliver a robust response to the Zionists." However, he emphasized that such a response would be measured. He emphasized, "Our retaliation will be decisive and inflict significant losses on Israel."
Nonetheless, like many Iranian analysts and social media activists, he warned that the strike on the Iranian consulate could be part of a plot to drag Iran into a wider war in the region, involving Israel.
Meanwhile, in an interview with Entekhab news website, former diplomat and current political analyst Ghasem Mohebali stated that Israel has opted to escalate the conflict. However, Mohebali urged Iran to carefully consider whether broadening the conflict would serve Iran's interests or play into Israel's hands. He cautioned that overlooking details could entangle Iran in a game orchestrated by Israel.
While many observers, including commentators on the Iranian state TV, have questioned the Islamic Republic's inaction in the face of repeated Israeli strikes on Iran's positions inside and outside the country. Mohammad Taghi Aghayan, an Iranian analyst said on live Iranian TV: "Everyone talks about hard responses to Israel, but no one says where and when." And in response to those who call for calculated measures and strategic patience, he said: "What exactly should Israel do to prompt us to take hard revenge?"
"Hard revenge" is a term coined by Khamenei and the IRGC after US forces killed IRGC Qods Force Commander Qasem Soleimani in 2020. Talking excessively about "hard revenge," "levelling Tel Aviv and Haifa," and "punishing Israel" without taking action is deeply embarrassing for Khamenei. Even many of his staunch supporters are questioning on social media what he and the IRGC are doing and how they are utilizing their power beyond suppressing women and students in the streets.
Khamenei is faced with two options: retaliating and falling into Netanyahu's trap, or refraining from action and facing further embarrassment.