Iran has a religious government ledby the ayatollahassupreme leader, the highest authority in the state. The country maintains two parallel military systems.
The Iranian army operates as the conventional national military, while the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) reports directly to the supreme leader, answerable only to him.
Domestically, the IRGC functions as a major tool of repression, including arresting and killing protesters.
Abroad, it supports terrorist organizations through training, funding, and coordination while carrying out the regime’s foreign policy objectives.
Law enforcement inside Iran operates through two parallel systems. The regular police force falls under the Law Enforcement Command of the Islamic Republic of Iran (FARAJA), which has more than 260,000 personnel and is under the direct control of the supreme leader, who serves as commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
Although FARAJA is administratively affiliated with the Interior Ministry, the minister is responsible only for logistical matters such as maintaining equipment and facilities.
The chief of staff of FARAJA is directly appointed by the supreme leader and in turn appoints the higher echelons of police officers.
TheOffice of the Representativeof the Supreme Leader within the force is responsible for indoctrinating police personnel. The elected president and parliament have no authority to appoint or dismiss the police commander
. In December 2021, Khamenei issued a decree elevating FARAJA’s structure to that of a General Command, raising it to the same rank as the army and the IRGC and further consolidating the supreme leader’s control over therepression apparatus.
Alongside the regular police operates Iran’s morality police, formally known as the Gasht-e Ershad, or Guidance Patrol, an Islamic religious police unit tasked with enforcing the regime’s strict interpretation of Islamic social codes, with particular focus on mandatory hijab for women.
Source: The Gateway Pundit
