Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei declared on Oct. 8 that U.S. and Israeli strikes have failed to break the resolve of Iran’s domestic security forces, praising police personnel who weathered attacks launched in February under Operations Epic Fury and Roaring Lion.
Khamenei made the claim on X the same week the U.S. Army released a new battlefield identification guide meant to help American troops recognize members of Iran’s conventional military, the Artesh, whose ground forces the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security estimated in June at roughly 350,000 personnel.
“The criminal US-Zionist enemy’s desperate efforts and malicious attacks on the pillars of social order and security, which are unparalleled throughout history, have not caused the courageous personnel of the Police Force to waver even a fraction in their mission,” Khamenei wrote.
He singled out Iran’s Law Enforcement Command, FARAJA, for praise, accusing Washington and Israel of deliberately targeting the institution responsible for maintaining domestic order.
“The focus and persistence of the criminal US-Zionist enemy in striking at the Police Force at its various levels, from its highest command levels down to those who are on the frontline, has only served to underscore the paramount importance of this institution more than ever,” he wrote.
Three Pillars of Iranian Security
Iran’s security apparatus rests on three branches: the Artesh, which handles conventional territorial defense; the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which protects the Islamic Republic and projects power abroad; and FARAJA, which handles domestic law enforcement and internal security.
FARAJA is commanded by Brig. Gen. Ahmadreza Radan, who is responsible for public order, law enforcement and responding to civil unrest. Iran Human Rights Monitor reports the force has grown into a powerful internal security apparatus used to suppress anti-government demonstrations, monitor political activity and enforce the regime’s ideological restrictions.
Radan himself is under U.S. sanctions. The Treasury Department designated him in September 2010 for his role in beatings, killings and arbitrary arrests of protesters following Iran’s disputed 2009 presidential election.
Khamenei called for FARAJA to be strengthened with more personnel, equipment and technology — including artificial intelligence for data analysis.
The Pentagon Is Watching the Artesh
Khamenei’s statement landed the same week the U.S. Army’s Training and Transformation Command published a “Know the Threat” recognition guide, dated Sept. 24 and highlighted by Defense News on Oct. 9. The guide depicts an Iranian special forces soldier and catalogs weapons American troops could encounter, including AKM rifles, Iranian-made Masaf-2 rifles, German-designed G3 rifles, MG3 machine guns and RPG-7 rocket-propelled grenade launchers.
The Artesh is Iran’s regular military, separate from the IRGC and its Basij militia affiliate, and operates across four branches: Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force and Air Defense Force. The Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security’s June assessment put the Ground Forces at approximately 350,000 personnel, including 220,000 conscripts. The same report found that Iran’s air, naval and air defense components suffered severe losses in the opening phase of the U.S.-Israeli campaign, while ground forces remained largely intact because no ground invasion occurred.
The Artesh is commanded by Maj. Gen. Amir Hatami, a former Iranian defense minister who took the post in June 2025. On Oct. 6, Hatami issued his own defiant message, claiming Iran’s adversaries faced “historic confusion” after failing to stop military production during the conflict, and asserting that Iranian defense production lines kept running through the fighting.
How much of Iran’s conventional military has actually recovered remains unclear. The June assessment from the Jerusalem Institute found the country’s air, naval and air defense forces had taken severe damage during the conflict.
For his part, President Donald Trump said on Oct. 8 that Washington would not resume military strikes against Iran before the Nov. 3 midterm elections, pointing to “productive discussions” between the two countries.
