The Nirouyeh Vijeh Pasdaran Velayat, or NOPO, was the only force Ali Khamenei trusted.It was founded in 1991 and is more feared than the Revolutionary Guards.

National Interest

Peaceful power transfers followed uprisings in India’s neighbourhood. It’s a sign of mature democracies

Shekhar Gupta - March 14, 2026

Rating democracies is a tricky business. I am only using the simple metric of who in the Indian subcontinent has had the most peaceful, stable, normal political transitions and continuity.

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Supreme Leader Mojtaba, the man Iran must keep alive & the secret force ‘tasked with it’—all about NOPO

National Interest

Peaceful power transfers followed uprisings in India’s neighbourhood. It’s a sign of mature democracies

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