TEHRAN – The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps commander has said that the IRGC should press on with its leading role in steering the country through sanctions and foreign pressure.

Brigadier General Mohammad Ali Jafari made the remarks on Sunday during the farewell and induction ceremony of former and new commanders of the Khatam-ol-Anbiya Construction Base, the IRGC’s construction contractor.
Abolqasem Mozafari-Shams has been selected as the new commander of the Khatam-ol-Anbiya Construction Base, replacing Rostam Qasemi, who has recently been appointed as the oil minister.
Pointing to the country’s reliance oil revenues, the IRGC commander said, “The IRGC should be the driving force on the economic front.”
Jafari also said that defending the country against military threats is not the IRGC’s only duty, but it is also obligated to counter economic and cultural threats.
Elsewhere in his remarks, he praised the Khatam-ol-Anbiya Construction Base for cushioning the impact of sanctions and foreign pressure through helping the government to push ahead with its construction plans, saying all officials have admitted that the country would have faced serious problems if the IRGC’s construction arm had not played its key role.
Khatam-ol-Anbiya to replace foreign investors
The new oil minister also made a short speech during the ceremony, saying the Khatam-ol-Anbiya Construction Base should replace giant foreign corporations and try to clear the backlog of projects and implement development plans which are long overdue.
“It requires working with jihadist and revolutionary spirit,” Qasemi said.
He added that Khatam-ol-Anbiya should only take on major economic projects and hand over the implementation of smaller projects to the private sector.