At the same time as the economic crisis has intensified and dissatisfaction with the Islamic Republic has increased, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Basij have held a military and security drill in Tehran since this morning.

Hosseinz Tayyeb, the head of the Basij Organization of the IRGC, described the participants as “resistance battalions” and said they were prepared to confront the enemies of the Islamic Republic.

Masoud Kazemi, a journalist, says the main goals of the Islamic Republic’s security forces in holding this street drill are...