IRAN: About 15,000 hardline Basij militiamen staged a rally in central Tehran yesterday to denounce the United States and Israel and criticise a recent wave of pro-reform student protests in Iran.
Chanting their standard slogans "Death to America" and "Death to Israel", men dressed in camouflage uniforms joined women in head-to-toe black chadors at the rally in front of the former US embassy to mark National Basij week.
The gathering followed two weeks of the largest pro-reform protests in the Islamic Republic for over three years, led by students calling for freedom of speech and far-reaching changes to Iran's political system.
Basij militiamen and students have clashed at some rallies, adding to an increasingly tense atmosphere in the country, where pro-reform President Mohammad Khatami is trying to curb the influence of hardliners who control key levers of power.
"America and Israel are the biggest enemies of Muslim nations and our people. Basijis should be aware of the sinister objectives which America is following," Revolutionary Guards Commander Yaha Rahim Safavi told the crowd.
The Basij have their origins in the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war when thousands of young volunteers made suicidal charges over minefields to pave the way for regular troops following behind.
Since the war, they have become a morals police, often used to crack down on un-Islamic behaviour or political gatherings.
"I call on officials, especially those in charge of a few political groups who are inciting students, to stop tying their factional and political interests to those of the nation," Mr Safavi said. His comments echo those of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.