The Media LIne: Israeli Attacks on Checkpoints Have Spread Fear Among the Basij and the IRGC  

Israeli Attacks on Checkpoints Have Spread Fear Among the Basij and the IRGC   

By Omid Habibinia/The Media Line  

As Israeli attacks on Basij and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) checkpoints in Tehran have intensified, an audio file has emerged that appears to feature a Basij commander speaking on a messaging platform used by his forces in one district of Tehran.   

In the recording, he urges them not to panic during attacks by Israeli drones and not to abandon their posts. At the same time, one Tehran resident says the number of Basij members who have failed to report to their posts out of fear of being targeted has increased in recent days.   

In the audio file, published by the Telegram channel Mamlekateh, the commander identifies the drone that struck one of the checkpoints as a Heron TP, saying it can remain in continuous flight over Tehran for up to 16 hours and fire eight missiles that operate in clusters.   

He also says there are few military targets left for fighter jets, and that drones have therefore been deployed to crush military forces in Tehran. The commander adds that the jets are also being used to identify gathering points for military personnel, and that a large number of mobile phones can help reveal their location.   

Forces under his command, who are hiding in schools, mosques, and other civilian locations, are instructed to switch off their phones as soon as they hear the sound of drones, leave their post, and reposition nearby so that if “armed individuals” arrive, they can confront them, while also avoiding injury in the event of a missile strike.   

The commander also tells his forces not to be afraid, saying that all Basij personnel are now anxiously looking at the sky and thinking fighter jets are about to strike them, even though no one has attacked them from the ground. But, he says, “they are clearing the way so that by creating fear and terror they can move operational teams across the city to the intended areas.” He tells Basij members to control their fear and “not be scared for no reason.”   

Over the past several days, the Israeli army has released several videos showing Revolutionary Guards and Basij members being targeted at checkpoints, while some Telegram channels have also published images of such strikes. The attacks have generated deep fear among Basij members.   

A resident of southern Tehran told The Media Line that one of their relatives, who in recent days had been serving at a checkpoint—or, as they call it, a “trap”—near their neighborhood, switched off his phone yesterday and fled to northern Iran. When Basij members later called to ask why he had not reported for duty, his family said they had no idea where he was.   

This comes as the Islamic regime on Friday held its Quds Day rally with the participation of several senior figures, including President Masoud Pezeshkian, who appeared to be moving among regime supporters without a large security detail.   

State News TV described him in an on-screen caption as “brave,” while his guards, positioned farther away—many of them behind state television cameras with weapons ready to fire— watched the surroundings.   

During Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i’s appearance at the rally, an explosion occurred nearby, and a large number of visible and plainclothes guards immediately removed him from the area while the ceremony was being broadcast. State media also reported that during the Quds Day rally, a woman was killed by explosive shrapnel near Enghelab Square, in the centre of the city.   

Joint Israeli and US attacks on targets in Tehran have intensified sharply over the past several nights, with massive explosions reported across most parts of the Iranian capital, especially in the east and west,  as well as in Karaj, throughout the day and night.    

As the bombing of Tehran continued and power had been cut in parts of the city, a resident of eastern Tehran told TML on Friday night that since the morning, access to all VPNs had been blocked and satellite television channels—through which people usually obtain news of the war —had been jammed, leaving residents unaware for hours of US and Israeli warnings about the areas being targeted.   

On Thursday night, Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref visited several checkpoints to boost the morale of military forces and posed for photographs with them.   

After the killing of Ali Khamenei, the former leader of the Islamic Republic was announced, and as people came into the streets to celebrate and dance, Basij and IRGC forces opened fire on them in several incidents, killing a number of people.   

In recent days, the Iranian government has deployed military forces in the streets in vehicles equipped with machine guns and is openly threatening protesters, warning that any street demonstrations will be met with a crackdown even harsher than the bloody repression of January.   

Meanwhile, on Friday evening, social media users also reported attacks on checkpoints in Tehran and other cities, including Karaj.   

YouTube video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SA2z4ziEl0 

Captions:  

Checkpoint #1 In recent days, the Basij and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, together with the police, have set up checkpoints across the streets of Tehran and other cities, some of which have been targeted in Israeli attacks. This photo dates back to previous months. (RASA