Possible Schism Forming Between Iranian Military and Paramilitiary Revolutionary Guard

Potentially a game-changer if its veracity proves credible, eight regiments of the Iranian military -- that is, not the Revolutionary Guard or Basij -- have signed an open letter titled "The Military is the Refuge of the Nation" proclaiming that their allegiances are ultimately to the Iranian people. "The military considers itself the refuge of the nation and has never submitted to the demands of politicians to oppress the people," the letter continues, "and it will defend, to its last drop of blood, the peaceful people of Iran against any aggressor."

I speculated on what possible role that the military would have in the unfolding post-election crisis back in October:

And yet another dimension which begs to be explored is what effect these changes will have on the already marginalized actual military of the country. Unlike their Revolutionary Guard and Basiji counterparts, the majority of Iran's military corps are not ideologically-driven. The paramilitary's unrelenting power grab of the last twenty years has likely left many in the army disillusioned. Perhaps that is why 36 army officers were arrested for planning to attend Rafsanjani's July sermon in full military uniform.

As Enduring America notes, Mohsen Sazegara, a founder of the Revolutionary Guard and an out-spoken dissident residing in the United States, has weighed in on the letter, positing that it will boost the movement's morale to know that at least a portion of the country's armed forces is behind them.

The purported audio-recording of the letter (translated by homylafayette here) is embedded below:


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UPDATE: Naj relays a statement posted on both Mousavi and Karoubi's facebook accounts, announcing demonstration routes in the event that prominent leaders of the Green movement are arrested. It appears as though they are suggesting that yesterday's letter allegedly signed by eight military regiments is a false-flag operation, meant to provide the regime with a fictitious pretext (i.e., an imminent military coup) for widespread arrests. This would be in line with slew of recent videos supposedly showing Greens burning pictures of Khomeini. (Mousavi has openly doubted that the individuals appearing in the videos are Green supporters and has hinted that they are manufactured propaganda meant at disrupting the opposition's unity).

As of Saturday evening, the letter's authenticity remains unconfirmed.