Thar-Allah Headquarters
The Thar-Allah Headquarters is an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps command. It is in charge of security for Tehran area. However, it also carries responsibility for territorial security in the region. The Thar-Allah Headquarters is directly subordinate to the Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Still, its day-to-day operations are supervised by an executive commander.
In addition to its official security duties, the Thar-Allah Headquarters has played a central role in the widespread suppression of popular protests in Iran. Among others, it was directly involved in suppressing the 1999 Iranian student protests, the 2009 Iranian presidential election protests, the 2019–2020 Iranian protests, and also during the widespread protests following the death of Mahsa Amini in 2022 and 2023. The headquarters was directly responsible for the repression of protesters, mass arrests, use of violence, direct shootings at protesters, torture, and severe crackdowns on dissidents. Multiple reports by international human rights?organizations such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the United Nations have described these actions as serious violations of human rights and, in some cases, as acts constituting "crimes against humanity". During the June 15, 2009 protests, Thar-Allah Headquarters played a key role in suppressing the demonstrations. The Thar-Allah Headquarters is under the command of the Commander-in-Chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and currently, Brigadier General Hossein Nejat serves as its deputy commander.
Due to its powerful position in the national security establishment—defending the national leadership of Iran and securing the national capital—commanders of the Thar-Allah Headquarters have been criticised for "illegally interfering" in the political process over the years.
Name
"Thar-Allah" roughly translates to "Allah will revenge ", which refers to Imam Husayn ibn Ali, who was killed in the Battle of Karbala in 680 AD/61 AH.History
During the first decade after the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1979, no dedicated or specialized riot-control forces were available. In the early 1990s, there were widespread protests that, although economically-driven and not of a political nature in and of themselves, were dealt with a military response by troops drawn from other parts of Iran.In recognition of this lack of specialized anti-riot forces, the Ashura and al-Zahra battalions were established in the 1990s, alongside specific NAJA units. The Thar-Allah Headquarters was established in 1995 by the order of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, to be headed by the chief commander of the IRGC.
The Thar-Allah Headquarters was heavily involved in the suppression of the July 1999 Iranian student protests by order of the Supreme National Security Council. In the aftermath of the protests, Thar-Allah gained full independence as a command centre and was responsible for cracking down on street revolts in 2003.
The Thar-Allah Headquarters also played a major role in the suppression of the 2009 Iranian presidential election protests. While combat units from the IRGC's Ground Forces were not mobilized, organizations and forces coordinated by the Thar-Allah Headquarters detained, interrogated, and allegedly tortured many protestors in Thar-Allah's facilities and detainment centers as well as in Evin Prison in Tehran.
Mission
The Thar-Allah Headquarters is tasked with the safety and security of the capital city of Tehran, as well as Tehran and Alborz provinces. In particular, it is tasked with protecting key institutions and the offices of the Government of Iran. The Thar-Allah Headquarters is also tasked with thwarting all threats against Tehran. This mandate is reflected in two directions: security-oriented operations, and societally-oriented operations.Security-oriented operations
Security-oriented operations are the core tasks entrusted to the Thar-Allah Headquarters. These missions include dealing with serious unrest as well as providing security for special events, such as presidential inaugurations and other occasions. The Thar-Allah Headquarters has a number of operational units at both the national level and regional/local units such as the Beit al-Muqaddas battalions, the Ashura battalions, the Al-Zahra battalions, and the Saheb-al-Zaman Special Unit.The Thar-Allah Headquarters receives intelligence from the Ministry of Intelligence, the Iranian Security Police, and the Intelligence Organization of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps itself.
Society-oriented operations
The Thar-Allah Headquarters is also responsible for operations and tasks related to the civil society. Some of these tasks consist in monitoring and, if necessary, intervening in sociocultural and social-media activities in Tehran, in what is characterized generally as cultural engineering. In recent years, Thar-Allah cyber units have arrested several dissidents, journalists, and fashion and music influencers.Society-oriented tasks also include the carrying out of relief and public aid operations. With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Iran, the Thar-Allah Headquarters were tasked with supporting the relevant medical efforts in Tehran.
Procedures
Under normal circumstances, security provision in and around Tehran rests with the NAJA and the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence. When the situation escalates, the Supreme National Security Council can request permission of the Supreme Leader of Iran to deploy the Thar-Allah Headquarters' forces. The Ministry of Intelligence, the NAJA, and all government ministries would then come under its operational control. The Thar-Allah Headquarters, in times of crisis, therefore acts effectively as military governor of Tehran.Organization
As explained above, the Thar-Allah Headquarters acts as military governor authority of Tehran and thus has significant combat power and influence. It consists of two sub-headquarters, Nasser-e and Quds-e, which serve the northwest and south/southeast of Tehran, respectively. There are also several other security units composed of IRGC and Basij personnel.The leadership of the Thar-Allah consists of its Commander, its Deputy Commander, the Supreme Leader's Representative, the Deputy Coordinator, and a Deputy Operations Commander. Until March 2020, the latter position was held by Nasser Shabani.
Thar-Allah also has a medical unit, which has been headed by Ali Khalili since 2011.
Thar-Allah directly controls three Provincial commands:
- Alborz province: Sepah-e Imam Hassan Mojtaba
- Tehran province: Sepah-e Sayyed al-Shohada
- Tehran city: Sepah-e Muhammad Rasoul Allah
- Qods: Northwest Tehran
- Nasr: Northeast Tehran
- Qadr: Southeast Tehran
- Fath: Southwest Tehran.
Operational units
- Al Mohammad Security Brigade ;
- 1st Hazrat-e Zahra Brigade ;
- 20th Ramezan Independent Armored Brigade.
Commanders