| Country: | Iran |
| Details of Formation: | Hoseyn Allahkaram, a former military officer, founded the group in 1991. It began as a grassroot movement in Tehran and belongs to the Iranian Hezbollah movement. It was intended to consolidate Khomeyni’s power after the revolution in 1979. (Wikipedia) |
| Details of Termination: | The PGM is not terminated. |
| Purpose: | The militia is a far-right organization that suppresses all political opposition and internal threats to the principles of the Islamic Revolution. It was created by a former military officer to consolidate Ayatollah Khomeyni’s power after the revolution in 1979 and is loyal to the Supreme Leader. (Wikipedia) |
| Organisation: | The militia belongs to the broader movement of the Iranian Hezbollah which was founded in post-revolutionist Iran by Ayatollah Khomeyni to consolidate his power. The group was not created by Khomeyni, but by a former military officer and pledges loyalty to the Supreme Leader. The militia is highly organized as they have a general secretary and other coordination leaders. (Wikipedia) |
| Weapons and Training: | Ansar-e-Hezbollah receives formal training by the Iranian government and is sponsored by several government clerics. (Wikipedia) |
| Size: | The militia has about 4,000 members. |
| Reason for Membership: | Most members are veterans of the Iran-Iraq War or members of the Basij militia. (Wikipedia) |
| Treatment of Civilians: | The militia uses violence against all potential political threats to the Supreme Leader and is in turn protected by him. (Wikipedia) |
| Other Information: | Ansar-e Hezbollah is a group of fundamentalists, loyal to Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati and led by Haju Bakhshi. Its efforts are mainly directed at purging Iran of Western values. The name means "Supporters of the Party of God". Within Iran they were occasionally known as the "plain clothes." The first operations are reported in October 1995. The PGM has connections to the Council of Guardians and is loyal to conservative high level religious leaders within the government. Furthermore, it is fiercely loyal to Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, and is believed to enjoy his full support. Most members are also members of the Basij, the volunteer paramilitary arm of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. |
| References: |
Wikipedia. “Ansar-e Hezbollah”. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ansar-e_Hezbollah |