TEHRAN – Over the past forty years, each year the Islamic Republic has been facing a new sedition, the commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps extra-territorial   branch, the Quds Force, has said, emphasizing the role the clergy play in leading the country through the harsh times.

Speaking at a clerical event in the central city of Kerman on Saturday, Qassem Soleimani said the Islamic Republic is already past “major seditions”.

In particular, Soleimani pointed to the role of Imam Khomeini during and after the Islamic revolution and now by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

He also said, “There is a fundamental difference between the Shia clergy and others, namely the fact that the Shias do not have stratified categorization of clerics.”

“Quite to the contrary, the [Shia] clergy propagates abolition of stratification, unless on basis of virtue.”

In his capacity as commander of the Quds Force, Soleimani recently appointed former Kerman mayor Mohammad Jalalma’ab as new chief at the Headquarters for Reconstruction of the Holy Shrines in Iraq.

Soleimani also appointed the former chief of the headquarters, Hassan Polarak, as head of the center’s financial unit, Fars reported.

Polarak worked as an adviser to Vice-President Es’haq Jahangiri for several months in 2016.

The Headquarters for Reconstruction of the Holy Shrines has been active in Iraq since 2003, when it was established based on advice by Ayatollah Khamenei. Its mission is to reconstruct and renovate holy Shia sites in Iraq.

The headquarters’ activities in Iraq have been officially defined as “religious and urban development activities in Iraq.” It is active in various Iraqi cities including Najaf and Karbala, where major Shia shrines are located. It also has an office in Syria that is tasked with the reconstruction of Shia shrines in that country.

Some 3,000 Iranians are said to be working with the headquarters in Iraq.

The development projects usually combine religious activities with tourism, placing hotels, restaurants, shops and parking areas next to refurbished shrines.

SP/PA