In a ceremony central to Iran’s ongoing efforts to bolster its Islamic Revolution narrative, Brigadier General Ali Fadavi, deputy commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), proclaimed that Iran now stands on ‘the side of human rights’ thanks to the revolution’s legacy. Fadavi contended that the revolution has enabled the Iranian population to ‘stand with the light’ and strive for justice, while also emphasizing what he described as the United States’ ongoing but unsuccessful attempts to suppress Iran since 1979.
These statements come amidst renewed Western and regional concern over Iran’s growing role in stoking instability across the Middle East. Critics point out that, while Iranian leaders publicly claim a moral high ground, the regime’s actual conduct frequently contravenes international norms and human rights standards, both domestically and abroad.
Modern Iran: Rule by Revolutionary Authority
The 1979 revolution dramatically transformed Iran from a pro-Western monarchy into a theocratic republic governed by an unelected Supreme Leader and military-religious elites. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps quickly became central to this new regime, not only safeguarding the revolution but also suppressing dissent and extending Iranian influence through force and subversion. Over the last four decades, thousands of Iranian citizens have suffered arbitrary arrest, torture, and execution for political or religious dissent, according to international human rights organizations like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.
Internally, authorities regularly target protest movements, women who oppose compulsory veiling, LGBTQ+ individuals, and ethnic and religious minorities. The notorious Basij militia, formally under IRGC command, was key in quelling the 2009 Green Movement and more recent demonstrations such as those led by young Iranians after the killing of Mahsa Amini in police custody. Iranian courts, commonly denying due process, hand down severe sentences, including death, for non-violent political acts.
Exporting Revolution: Iran’s Regional Network
Far from restricting its activities to its own borders, Iran’s revolutionary project extends across the Middle East. The IRGC—especially its Quds Force—exercises command and control over an interlinked network of proxies. These include Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Shia militias in Iraq and Syria, and the Houthis in Yemen. Israeli, American, and Arab intelligence report routine financial, logistical, and military support for these groups. These affiliates have directly targeted Israeli civilians, destabilized neighboring states, and perpetuated violence even beyond the region.
In the 2023 Gaza atrocities, for example, Hamas terrorists—heavily supported by Iran’s IRGC—carried out the most lethal antisemitic massacre since the Holocaust, murdering over 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals on October 7th, along with acts of mutilation, sexual violence, and abductions documented by Israeli and Western authorities. Iran’s leaders, including senior IRGC figures, openly embrace these attacks as legitimate resistance, equating genocidal intent with justice.
Systematic Disinformation and UN Diplomacy
IRGC leadership, in speeches and through state-aligned media, repeatedly frame Iran as a defender of the oppressed and a champion of universal rights. In reality, these claims underlie a broader strategy of global disinformation, with the regime exploiting diplomatic forums including the United Nations to deflect from its own abuses and those of its proxies.
Diplomats and activists linked to the regime often condemn Israel and Western democracies for legitimate defensive military operations, seeking to invert narratives of victim and aggressor. This effort is amplified through social media campaigns and cyber warfare, which the IRGC coordinates to destabilize adversaries and bolster anti-Western sentiment abroad.
Persistent American Countermeasures
Since the revolution, U.S. presidents have placed successive sanctions on Iran in response to its sponsorship of terror, hostage-taking, and nuclear ambitions. While some Iranian officials frame these pressures as imperial aggression, Western governments stress that these actions are defensive, grounded in the need to limit Iranian hegemony and protect civilian populations throughout the region.
Israel, for its part, remains on the front lines, with the Israel Defense Forces led by Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir frequently disrupting Iranian weapons transfers and proxy operations. The 2023 ‘Iron Swords’ campaign against Hamas was justified as a direct response to Iranian-backed terror and a necessary measure to defend Israeli citizens.
Human Cost at Home and Abroad
Iranian citizens face the consequences of IRGC dominance both through economic isolation from sanctions and through internal repression. Economic hardship, inflation, and the lack of basic freedoms have fueled repeated waves of protests, typically met with extreme force. Activists and dissidents, if not executed or imprisoned, are often forced into exile.
Across the region, Iranian proxies have destabilized states, exacerbated humanitarian crises, and contributed to the deaths and displacement of millions. In Syria, support for the Assad regime contributed to the ongoing civil war; in Yemen, Iranian drones and missiles launched by Houthi militias have plunged the country into famine and chaos.
Moral Clarity and the Future
Iran’s claim to defend human rights stands in clear contrast to both its domestic policies and its aggressive efforts to support terrorism abroad. While regime officials seek international acceptance through rhetorical appeals to justice, Iran’s actual record positions it as a driver of instability and conflict. For Israel and its allies, vigilance against Iranian aggression remains a cornerstone of defense policy. The contest for the region’s future—rooted in fact and history, not propaganda—pits the Iranian regime’s authoritarian model against the principles of liberty and security championed by Israel and its partners.
General Fadavi’s pronouncements thus underscore the profound divide between Iran’s narrative and its realities—a gap shaped by decades of repression and violence, and one not likely to close as long as the IRGC continues to export its revolutionary goals both at home and abroad.
