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BRUSSELS — An Iranian opposition leader said Thursday that the
country is making sweeping changes to its security apparatus in an
effort to consolidate the power of the elite Revolutionary Guard.

Maryam
Rajavi, head of the National Council of Resistance of Iran — a
Paris-based umbrella opposition group — said the alleged changes and
accompanying purges stem from worries about the loyalty of the security
forces as the nation experiences its most significant unrest since the
1979 Islamic Revolution.

Iran had announced a reorganization of
its security forces following President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's disputed
re-election in June. But the changes Rajavi contended are taking place
have so far been unknown.

The Paris-based National Council of
Resistance has frequently made accusations about Iran's covert
activities, based on what it says is information from sources inside
the country. Some of its claims have been borne out; others have not
been substantiated.

The council is regarded as a terrorist organization by the U.S. government.

Farzad
A. Farhangian, a spokesman for the Iranian embassy in Brussels, said it
was a waste of time to comment on the "baseless and false claims ... of
a small group of international terrorists."

The Revolutionary
Guard, directly controlled by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Kh... >>>