Revolutionary Guards & Basij prepare for war

Developments on the IRGC's restructuring campaign continue to unfold daily. As written in previous posts, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps is undergoing a period of reorganization in order to better prepare it and its associated forces (the Basij popular milita, the regular army, etc.) for the possibility of war with the US.

As part of this effort, Fars reports in Persian that the Basij (Iran's national popular militia) is in the process of establishing 600 new "Imam Husayn" battalions. These battalions, of which "more than 200" have already been created, will work under the new IRGC provincial commands.

Although these battalions will be established throughout the country, the IRGC appears to be emphasizing the Basij's presence along Iran's western border. This is directly related to both the fears of a possible US invasion originating in Iraq and to the increasing skirmishes between Iranian forces and Kurdish groups based in Iraq.

It can be expected that the IRGC will also concentrate its efforts along Iran's northwestern and southeastern borders, where Iranian forces have recently witnessed an upsurge in violence in their ongoing battles with drug smugglers, ethnic militias, and other criminal elements.

Perhaps anticipating war front casualties, the IRGC (according to an OSC translated article from Farhang-e Ashti on 2 July 2008) has also established a modernized field hospital called the "Mobile Tactical Aid and Surgery Unit."