PMF units reportedly entered Iran last January and assisted the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in the massacre of civilians.
State media in Iran have published images showing Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) fighters entering Khuzestan, provoking anger and revulsion among many Iranians, who say these proxy forces are repeatedly brought into the country to kill protesters and defend the ruling system.
On Tuesday, Masoud Pezeshkian, the president of the ruling establishment, wrote in a post on X/Twitter, a platform that has been blocked for ordinary Iranians for years, thanking the “Muslim people of Iraq” for standing by the people of Iran in what he called this “unjust” war. He also wrote, “I warmly shake the hands of the people, officials, and fighters of Iraq in Mesopotamia.” Although domestic media have not disclosed how many PMF fighters have entered Iran, residents of Khuzestan say at least 1,000 armed members of the force, carrying its official flags, have entered the province under the guise of a “relief convoy,” arriving with vehicles and military equipment.
They add that others may also have entered the country unofficially and covertly. Under Article 146 of the Islamic Republic’s own constitution, the stationing of armed foreign military forces on Iranian soil is illegal. In previous years, the deployment of Russian forces at a military base inside Iran drew sharp criticism from the press and even from some members of parliament on precisely those grounds. (Read More)
