VZCZCXRO2264
PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK
DE RUEHDIR #0012/01 0811052
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
P R 221052Z MAR 07
FM IRAN RPO DUBAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0070
INFO RUCNIRA/IRAN COLLECTIVE
RUEHAD/AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI 0038
RUEHAD/USDAO ABU DHABI TC
RUEHDE/AMCONSUL DUBAI 0065
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEHDIR/IRAN RPO DUBAI 0063

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 IRAN RPO DUBAI 000012 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NOFORN 
SIPDIS 
 
LONDON FOR GAYLE; PARIS FOR WALLER; BERLIN FOR PAETZOLD; BAKU 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  3/22/2027 
TAGS: PGOV PREL IR IZ MOPS
SUBJECT: IRGC, BASIJ, ANSAR-E HIZBALLAH:  INSIDERS' VIEWS 
 
REF: IRPO DUBAI 0001 
 
RPO DUBAI 00000012  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Jillian L. Burns, Director, Iran Regional 
Presence Office, Dubai, UAE. 
REASON: 1.4 (d) 
 
1.(S/NF) A purported former IRGC general and an Iranian doctor 
who is reportedly very close to the regime and specifically to 
the Basij, discussed in separate meetings with IRPO Director the 
IRGC, the Basij, and Ansar-e Hizballah.  One said recent US 
actions against Iranians in Iraq had increased IRGC antagonism, 
but predicted it was unlikely the group would retaliate. 
Another claimed that the percentage of hardcore conservatives in 
the IRGC is miniscule, and some are actually pro-American.  A 
third source, a psychologist,  reportedly teaches anger 
management to the Basij to help moderate their confrontational 
approach to the public.  While their assertions cannot be 
verified, their comments are noteworthy.  These contacts' 
comments on the current political situation will be reported 
septel.  End summary 
 
IRGC 
---- 
 
2.(S/NF) An Iranian who is purportedly a former IRGC general 
told IRPO Director that recent US actions against Iranians in 
Baghdad and Irbil had "provoked" the IRGC.  Although it was not 
clear if he was speaking based on assumption or real knowledge, 
he said the actions have heightened antagonism within the 
organization against the US.  On the other hand, the IRGC had 
long known that the US could take such actions, so they weren't 
necessarily surprised.  He doubted the US would get any useful 
information from detainees.  He also doubted there would be 
retaliation.  He claimed the Supreme Leader had ordered rhetoric 
about the events to be kept low-key. 
 
3.(S/NF) The former general also said that one of his tasks in 
the personnel division of the IRGC during the Iran-Iraq war was 
finding replacements for military personnel killed in action. 
Through their personnel files, he claimed to have gained a great 
understanding of IRGC personnel.  He mentioned that in creating 
the IRGC personnel database, they based their system on the 
system used by the US military. 
 
4.(S/NF) An Iranian doctor who spent years living in the US and 
who is now reportedly very close to former Foreign Minister 
Velayati and a number of other regime officials,  discussed his 
view of the IRGC.  He maintained that the IRGC has turned 
against President Ahmadi-Nejad.  He also mentioned that the 
IRGC-Quds Force reports directly to the Supreme Leader.  Asked 
his reaction to the US view that the IRGC was a very anti-US, 
hardline group that supported terrorism, he claimed that only a 
small percentage, around 3% of IRGC, are as hardline as the 
paramilitary group, Ansar-e Hizballah.  He said a few are 
members of both organizations.  Some in the IRGC are pro-US, he 
claimed.  He said that after the Iran-Iraq war, many IRGC 
officers went to university and got higher degrees, changing 
their world views.  He named as an example Soleimani (Note: 
presumably Brigadier General Qasem Soleimani, commander of the 
IRGC Qods Force.  Soleimani's classified biography says he did 
not attend college prior to the Iran-Iraq war and makes no 
mention of any university education post-war.  Endnote). 
 
5.(S/NF) The former general mentioned that another former IRGC 
official who now has an Internet ISP company in Iran has been 
arrested several times for his company's activities.  The source 
disputed the notion that all IRGC officials and former officials 
are well connected with regime and favored by it.  He said this 
is only the case for members of a faction within the IRGC close 
to the current government (reftel). 
 
Basij 
----- 
 
6.(S/NF) Both the general and the doctor reportedly have links 
to the Basij.  The general reportedly knows Basij commander 
Mohammad Haj Aghamir, and the doctor is reportedly a regular 
advisor to and a friend of the leader of Tehran Basij.  The 
general estimated Basij membership at 10-13 million (Note: 
presumably including non-active duty.  End note).  The doctor 
said 10 million members, plus their families.  The doctor said 
Basij doctrine is to support the Supreme Leader and his 
policies.  The group has no separate agenda and is not seeking 
to gain power for itself.  He claimed that the Supreme Leader 
used the Basij to make known his dissatisfaction with the 
 
RPO DUBAI 00000012  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
president (NFI) and that the Basij stopped supporting 
Ahmadi-Nejad about six months ago.  He claimed the Basij now 
"hate" Ahmadi-Nejad because the president did not deliver on his 
promises to them during the election.  The president supposedly 
promised them a lot of positions in new government but was 
unable to deliver because he got inundated with similar requests 
for other groups. 
 
7.(S/NF) The doctor's wife, who was also at the meeting, 
reportedly teaches anger management to members of the Basij as 
well as police and guards for the Supreme Leader and Rafsanjani. 
 She has a doctorate in psychology.  Asked what the goal of such 
training is, she said as an example encouraging Basij to be less 
aggressive in their dealings with the public, such as 
confronting improperly dressed women.  She classified the 
Iranian culture as "angry," in that when Iranians are 
confronted, their normal response is anger, and said in this way 
Iranians differ from Americans.  She said she instructs the 
guards on alternative reactions. 
 
Ansar-e Hizballah 
----------------- 
 
8.(S/NF) The purported former IRGC general said the Ansar-e 
Hizballah paramilitary group was very conservative, but also 
very small.  He put their membership at 3000 members, found only 
at universities.  He said that Ansar-e Hizballah was established 
during the Iran-Iraq war by Hussein Allah Karam, who came out of 
the Basij.  He described Allah Karam as very smart, saying he 
has a PhD.  The general disputed rumors heard frequently from 
Iranians that Ansar-e Hizballah deploys foreigners such as 
Palestinians and Yemenis in their ranks. 
 
9.(S/NF) The doctor said that Ansar-e Hizballah is divided into 
those willing to use violence and those not.  He also said the 
group is very conservative, calling them "stupid eggheads."  He 
put their membership, however, at 200,000 members.  He said the 
group supports President Ahmadi-Nejad, although they obeyed when 
the Supreme Leader reportedly told Allah Karam not to interfere 
in the December 2006 municipal and Assembly of Experts elections. 
 
10.(S/NF) Comment:  These are snippets of interesting 
information offered by sources who reportedly have a degree of 
inside information.  These sources were all introduced to IRPO 
director by the same longstanding Iranian-American contact, 
making it difficult to independently verify their claims of 
access to the regime.  None of them were applying for visas, so 
they had no reason to color their statements in this regard - 
unlike many of our contacts - but their motivation for meeting 
with a US official remains unclear.  Their assessment that the 
IRGC contains various political groupings is in line with 
comments from other contacts, who have maintained the IRGC 
contains factions favoring one politician - Ahmadi-Nejad, 
Qalibaf, Rafsanjani, etc, - over another.  The doctor's claim 
that the IRGC as a whole is now anti-Ahmadi-Nejad and that the 
Basij "hate" him may have been based on political motivation. 
The doctor, who reportedly served on the presidential campaign 
of Velayati, remains an avid supporter, and claims Velayati is 
planning a 2009 bid.  He may have been deliberating exaggerating 
the situation to color USG's assessment of Ahmadi-Nejad's 
political standing in Iran. 
 
11.(C) Comment con't:  On a related note, a different, very 
westernized Iranian contact who lives outside Iran - not 
apparently connected to any of these groups - advised the USG to 
moderate the "vilification" of the IRGC and the Basij, which he 
said was found in VOA broadcasting.  Given the size of these two 
organizations, he said, a large percentage of the Iranian 
population has an IRGC or Basij member in the family.  Making 
sweeping generalities about these organizations has the 
potential of turning this extended group against the US, he 
said, by making them worry that in the case of change in Iran, 
their family members would be targeted.  He implied that the 
focus of US criticisms should be on specific objectionable 
behaviors of these groups, not on the groups themselves.  This 
is not an issue we have raised with other contacts but can do so 
in the future in order to gauge reaction. 
BURNS