بسیج

The Basij has a tiered structure: Pishtâzân (school-age, claimed enrollment in the millions), university Basij, neighborhood Basij (pâygâh-e moqâvemat), professional Basij (factories, ministries, hospitals). It runs surveillance on campuses, organizes pro-regime rallies on demand, and provides the bodies for street suppression when the regular police are too thin or too visible. During protest cycles (Dey 96, Âbân 98, Mahsa 2022) the regime depends on the Basij more than on the regular police, because Basijis answer to the IRGC chain, not to civilian command. They are armed during protests with batons, paintball guns, shotguns loaded with birdshot (the round that blinded over 600 Iranians during the Mahsa protests, per Iran Wire and the New York Times), and live ammunition.