{"id":348215,"date":"2026-09-22T15:00:02","date_gmt":"2026-09-22T14:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=348215"},"modified":"2026-09-22T15:05:50","modified_gmt":"2026-09-22T14:05:50","slug":"from-street-units-to-the-top-amnesty-maps-irans-2022-chain-of-command","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/human-rights\/from-street-units-to-the-top-amnesty-maps-irans-2022-chain-of-command\/","title":{"rendered":"From Street Units to the Top: Amnesty Maps Iran\u2019s 2022 Chain of Command"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Street
Street clashes in Iran as protesters set fire barricades amid nationwide unrest\u2014 December 3, 2022<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When security forces opened fire on protesters during Iran\u2019s 2022 uprising<\/a>, Amnesty International did not stop at identifying the units present on the streets. Its 2026 investigation sought to determine where those units sat inside Iran\u2019s security hierarchy, who exercised authority over them, how orders moved through the system and which officials possessed the power to control their operations.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Amnesty\u2019s <\/span>Architects of Atrocities<\/span><\/i> investigation<\/span><\/a> reconstructs command structures from county and provincial units through regional headquarters and national institutions. The organization says this work enabled it to identify 87 officials who warrant criminal investigation, including 62 security-force commanders and 25 Interior Ministry officials.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A Layered Machine<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Amnesty identifies the IRGC and the Police Command of the clerical dictatorship, or FARAJA, as the two principal security forces responsible for the crimes it documented. Within FARAJA, it traces units including the Prevention Police, Assistance Cohorts and Special Cohorts. Within the IRGC, it maps operational divisions, provincial Security Cohorts and Basij battalions through provincial corps and regional headquarters. Both forces ultimately operate under the General Staff of the Armed Forces, which itself falls under the command of the Supreme Leader as commander-in-chief.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Amnesty explicitly tied its conclusion to leaked state records: \u201cLeaked official documents analysed by Amnesty International further reveal that the attack was carried out pursuant to a state policy developed and implemented under the close control of senior officials and institutions, including ones at the highest levels of the state, and with their full authorization and financial support.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

The hierarchy extended below the provincial level. Amnesty found that IRGC provincial corps<\/a> contained operational units and Basij structures reaching counties and neighborhoods, while FARAJA maintained national, provincial and county commands. Command-and-control centers known as MARFOUK were used to transmit orders and coordinate FARAJA operations. The report also examined uniforms, weapons, vehicles and unit insignia to connect forces appearing in videos and eyewitness accounts with particular organizational units.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Alongside these vertical military and police structures, Amnesty reconstructed a parallel system of security councils. The Supreme National Security Council operated at national level; the State Security Council, headed by the interior minister, dealt with domestic security; and provincial and county security councils were headed by governors. Amnesty summarized the system this way: <\/span>\u201cOperating under the General Staff of the Armed Forces, these security forces implemented strategies which were formulated by security councils at national, provincial and county levels and enforced by the minister of interior and their representatives at sub-national levels, namely provincial and county governors.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Amnesty International\u2019s new landmark 1000+page report exposes how the Iranian authorities committed crimes against humanity to crush the 2022 Woman Life Freedom uprising and identifies 87 officials who should be criminally investigated. <\/p>\n

Amnesty International is calling for\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/NVcQvsHMl9<\/a><\/p>\n

— Amnesty International (@amnesty) September 16, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n