Iran to infiltrate Revolutionary Guard fighters into US, Europe

An Iranian military commander was quoted in a government publication as saying that Revolutionary Guard assets would be placed in the U.S. and Europe "very soon."  The purpose of infiltrating these assets is to promote the Islamic Republic's supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei and detect plots against the regime originating from overseas.

Washington Free Beacon:

“The whole world should know that the IRGC will be in the U.S. and Europe very soon,” Salar Abnoush, deputy coordinator of Iran’s Khatam-al-Anbia Garrison, an IRGC command front, was quoted as saying in an Iranian state-controlled publication closely tied to the IRGC.

The military leader’s comments come as Iran is spending great amounts of money to upgrade its military hardware and bolster its presence throughout the Middle East and beyond. Iran intends to spend billions to purchase U.S.-made planes that are likely to be converted for use in its air force.

Congressional leaders and others suspect that Iran has used a large portion of the cash windfall it received as a result of last summer’s nuclear agreement to upgrade its fighting capabilities war machine.

“The IRGC is [the] strong guardian of the Islamic Republic,” Abnoush was quoted as saying. “The Fedayeen of Velayat [fighting force] are under the order of Iran’s Supreme leader. Defending and protecting the Velayat [the Supreme Leader] has no border and limit.”

Iranian military and government officials have continued to advocate violence against the U.S. and its allies, despite the nuclear deal and several secret side agreements that gave Iran $1.7 billion in cash.

Iran accuses the U.S. of violating its end of the agreement by not helping the Islamic Republic gain further access to international banks and other markets.

Iran’s frustration over this has led to further accusations about a U.S. plot to foster unrest in the country.

“Our enemies have several projects to destroy our Islamic revolution, and have waged three wars against us to execute their plans against our Islamic Republic,” Abnoush said. “The IRGC has defeated enemies in several fronts. The enemy surrendered and accepted to negotiate with us.”

“And now all of our problems are being solved and our country is becoming stronger in all fronts. Some believe the holy defense ended,” the military leader added. “They are wrong; the holy defense continues, and today, it is more complicated than before.”

This is actually nothing new, except it appears that these assets will be permanent.  Previously, an arm of the IRGC, the Quds Force, were infiltrated into Europe and other overseas destinations to carry out specific assassination missions.  The Quds Force is suspected in almost a dozen murders and has been designated a terrorist organization by the Treasury Department for funding terrorism.  The Iranian military leader appears to be altering the mission of the IRGC's extraterritorial forces to include some permanent postings.

More recently, the Quds Force has been engaged in combat with Islamic State forces in Syria.  But American experts on Iran are worried about this infiltration of hardened fighters:

Congressional sources and experts involved in tracking Iran’s increased aggression in the region and elsewhere told the Washington Free Beacon that these most recent comments are troubling given Iran’s very public efforts to assassinate political enemies and others across the globe.

“If we look at Iran’s previous terror attacks and assassination campaign around the world, such a statement is alarming,” Saeed Ghasseminejad, an Iran expert at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told the Free Beacon. “The Islamic Republic has killed hundreds of Iranians and non-Iranians around the world in a coordinated campaign of terror. Iran may decide to restart the project now that many western companies are going to Iran and Iran feels its action in Europe may not be punished strongly.”

The IRGC can expand its operations thanks to the cash windfall Iran received by agreeing to the nuclear deal.  It makes you wonder what else the Iranian military can accomplish now that it's flush with cash.

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