brief - Iran 911 Case

overturn any secular law. Id., 21. He ―wields sole authority to command, appoint, anddismiss every major leadership figure of any importance in the Iranian governmentsystem,‖ all military commanders, the chief of the judicial system, all heads of importantfoundations, directors of national television and radio, ―and even the Friday prayerleaders in major mosques.‖ Ex. 6, Lopez-Tefft Affid. 20.There have been only two Supreme Leaders during the entirety of the IslamicRepublic of Iran: the leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini,and, after his death in 1989, the current Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Id.,19; Ex. 8, Clawson Affid. 22-23; Baer, The Devil We Know, p. 55. The SupremeLeader is assisted by an informal politburo, which has no name and no publicaccountability; indeed, its membership shifts with the secret currents of regime politics.Ex. 11, Banisadr testimony, pp. 13-14; 22; Baer, The Devil We Know, p. 66; see also Ex.6, Lopez-Tefft Affid. 21.Other than the Supreme Leader and a few influential ayatollahs, the mostpowerful entities in Iran are the elite Iranian Revolutionary Guards (―IRGC‖), alsoknown as the Sepah Pasdaran, and the Ministry of Intelligence and Security (―MOIS‖ or―VEVAK‖ or sometimes ―VAJA‖). Baer, The Devil We Know, pp. 34-36, 127; Ex. 8,Clawson Affid. 29-39.Established in the wake of the 1979 revolution, the IRGC is the key component ofthe revolutionary political structure of Iran. As both the guardian and the ―striking arm‖of the Islamic Revolution, the IRGC is answerable only to the Supreme Leader, not to thepresident. Ex. 8, Clawson Affid. 29-35. The IRGC is a special entity unto itself, partmilitary force, part paramilitary force, and part business conglomerate. Baer, The Devil43