Yesterday, in an unexpected move, the Revolutionary Guards’ newly appointed commander took charge of the Basij, a voluntary militia force beholden to the regime. The move was the latest in a string of changes affecting the Revolutionary Guards’ high leadership. Meanwhile, the commander of the Revolutionary Guards, who is now also commander of the Basij, announced a “change of strategy” in the Guards and renewed focus on “internal threats.”

In a division of labor that evolved gradually after the Iran-Iraq war, the Revolutionary Guards focused on external threats as the Basij increased its involvement in domestic affairs. In the past years, Basij has been active in controlling gatherings and disrupting demonstrations by civil or student activists.

Many speculate that the recent restructuring in Basij leadership and its subordination to the Guards is a response to increasing foreign threats against Iran and the possibility of an imminent military strike.

During his inauguration ceremony as commander of the Basij, Aziz Jafari said, “The Guards will become Basij, so that Basij can become Basij.” [In Farsi, “Basij” also means “mobilization.”] Jafari also identified encountering “internal threats” as the Revolutionary Guards’ “main responsibility.”

The move is somewhat a surprise, as the Basij was already subordinate to the Revolutionary Guards. A possibility is that the regime, following a widespread change in the Guards leadership, intends to reform the operational chart of both organizations. Aziz Jafari briefly mentioned such a possibility in his speech yesterday: “We have to be able to mold our structure to meet current threats.”

In his speech yesterday, Jafari also said, “Certainly, our old approach cannot be utilized today.” Citing Ayatollah Khamenei’s remarks in 1989 about the strategy of the Guards, Jafari said, “The Revolutionary Guard’s current strategy, which has been identified by the Supreme Leader, differs from the Guard’s strategy during those years.” He expanded on that point briefly: “Currently, the main responsibility of the Guards is to protect against internal threats, and then to aid the army in dealing with foreign threats.”

In yesterday’s meeting, Jafari only provided the following explanation about the recent move to subordinate leadership of the Basij to the Guards: “The supreme leader ordered that the Guards must become Basij. In order to conform to those orders, the responsibility of overseeing the Basij was bestowed on the commander of the Revolutionary Guards.”

The chain of events yesterday had another meaning that was somewhat clear, even though Jafari never explicitly mentioned it. Jafari first said, “the main responsibility of the Guards is to protect against internal threats.” He then said, “We have to be able to mold our structure to meet current threats,” concluding, “We have to pay special attention to the Basij so that we are able to achieve our aims quickly.”