Erbil, Kurdistan Region — Iranian authorities on Saturday deployed a notorious Afghan militia in the streets of Tehran as a way of intimidating locals, as security forces continue a crackdown, detaining thousands of people on charges of collaboration with the enemy.
Dozens of vehicles belonging to the Fatemiyoun Brigade, an Afghan Shiite militia created and trained by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), marched through the streets of the capital, waving their ubiquitous yellow flags as well as the Afghan flag.
The Quds Force, the branch of the IRGC responsible for extraterritorial operations and formerly led by General Qasem Soleimani, deployed these Afghan fighters to Syria after the Syrian civil war broke out in 2011 and used them as frontline troops against rebels and other forces opposed to President Bashar al-Assad’s regime. They remained in Syria until the downfall of the Assad regime in late 2024.
The use of the Afghan militia coincides with the arrival of several convoys of Iraqi Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) in Iran carrying aid. PMF fighters said on social media that they were ready to give their blood to protect the Islamic Republic.
Iran, and in particular the IRGC, appears to be relying heavily on its support base and proxy forces to reinforce its internal security, as Israeli and US aircraft carpet-bomb its bases across the country.
Iranian human rights activists have previously reported the use of Iraqi and Afghan militias by the IRGC and its notorious Basij militia in crackdowns against waves of protests that have engulfed the country in recent years.
The US and Israel have carried out close to 20,000 strikes across the country since February 28, leveling many security bases and killing scores of top commanders, as well as the overall commander of the country’s armed forces, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.