"She has practically acted as America's infantry inside Iran," wrote Fars News Agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The chain of cutthroat pieces targeted Faezeh Hashemi — a senior Reformist activist, former parliamentarian and daughter of late moderate ex-President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani — over her unprecedented diatribes against the powerful military organization. 

Addressing a meeting on the social media platform Club House on April 17, Hashemi stressed the need for the IRGC to "retreat to its bases" because it "has been expanding its scope of activities on a daily basis."  

In Hashemi's view, the only way for such a return is for the force to remain on the US list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO). "I don’t believe the removal of the IRGC from the list serves the Iranian nation any good," she declared. 

Founded only a few months into Iran's 1979 Revolution, the IRGC was by essence a military organization but enjoyed the blessing of the ruling clerical establishment in its growing rivalry with the regular army. The force's mission has over four decades transcended beyond its military mission, building an empire of wealthy conglomerates before rising as the country's most powerful entity, which has faced accusations of prevalent corruption with limitless impunity.