This week, former Revolutionary Guards commander Hossein Alaei dared to warn the Supreme Leader about the consquences of represssion. In an article in Etelaat, Alaei wrote of the Shah's response to the Qom uprising of 9 January 1978, noting, “The wrongful behaviour of the Shah’s security forces...amplified the people’s dissatisfaction with the monarchy and helped maintain it. As the number of people killed on the streets, imprisonments and political prisoners rose, the Shah’s regime essentially lost its valour too.”
This weekend, the regime offered its response to Alaei. As 12 current Revolutionary Guards commanders denounced Alaei as an agent of the "enemy", a crowd gathered in front of his home, chanting derisory slogans and covering the property in graffiti.
Alaei's reaction to the denunciation of his former colleagues? “Just as I have spent my whole life opposing tyranny....God willing, I will continue to stand firm in the straight path.”
