“Natural gas lines of Basij Head quarters were set on fire after Basijie’s (paramilitary) locked themselves inside.”

Tehran on fire

Unverified amateur video June 20 2009 from LiveLeak.com Quotes from LiveLeak

The Basij were armed thugs organized and protected by the ruling party in Iran. They rode around on motorcycles beating and shooting civilians in the protests. They were also involved in sniper killings of protesters.

“At 0:05 in the video you can see the whole building exploding.

It is said that at least 5 from Basijies were killed.

Fires are burning in different parts of city.”

The Basij are paramilitary first organized by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1979. They were initially young men unfit for military service. Khomeini used them as cannon fodder in the human wave attacks against Saddam Hussein’s army in the Iran – Iraq war. They were sent into battle as human waves.

From Wikipedia

Duties

“After the end of the Iran–Iraq War in 1988, the number of Basij check points dramatically decreased, but the Basij are still active in monitoring the activities of citizens. They enforce hijab, arresting women for violating the dress code, arrest youths for attending mixed gender parties or being in public with unrelated members of the opposite sex, seize ‘indecent’ material and satellite dish antennae. [1] Along with the Iranian riot police and the Ansar-e-Hezbollah, the Basij have been active in recent years in suppressing student demonstrations in Iran. The Basij are sometimes differentiated from the Ansar in being more “disciplined” and not beating, or at least not being as quick to beat demonstrators.”

“In 1988 college Basiji organizations were established on college campuses to fight “Westoxification” and potential student agitation against the government.”

“Basij also acts as an emergency management service, and is actively mobilized in case of earthquakes and other natural or human-made disasters. According to the Jordan Institute of Diplomacy and GlobalSecurity.org, Basij forces also enforce Iran’s Islamic codes together with other law enforcement organisations, though this also has experienced a considerable decline.”

“In November 23, 2000 civil defense exercises in Iran, armed Basijis took up positions in the streets and along strategic locations.”

“Basij forces often undertake general security checks in urban areas setting up street inspection posts to intercept drug smuggling and potential insurgency.”

“Some believe the change in focus of the Basij from its original mission of fighting to defend Iran in the Iran-Iraq War to its current internal security concerns has led to a loss in its prestige and morale. According to an unnamed “seasoned analyst” quoted by csmonitor.com, “You define yourself by your enemies, and those were the superpowers back then. … But now they are fighting young people who put gel in their hair. That’s the enemy. So it’s demeaning, and not at all elevating for their self-image.”

Revival

“GlobalSecurity.org reports that the Basij appear “to be undergoing something of a revival under the administration of President Mahmud Ahmadinejad.”

“In late September 2005, the Basij staged a series of urban defense exercises across the country. Its first deputy commander announced the creation of 2,000 “Ashura battalions” within the Basij that will have “riot-control responsibilities.” Some speculate the recent “revival” of the Basij could be connected “with preparations for possible civil unrest.”

“The Iranian Government has exercised a manifold of different plans to keep the Basij alive. Among these plans is the emphasis on ideas such as Development Basij (Basij-e-Sazandegi). Fars News Agency reported. “Among the most important tasks of the Basij are boosting everlasting security, strengthening development infrastructures, equipping resistance bases, [and] increasing employment,” Hejazi added. He described the prohibition of vice and the promotion of virtue in society as the “divine policy” of the Basij.”