The top leaders of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard publicly acknowledged they had taken over the nation’s security during the post-election unrest.

Maj Gen Mohammad Ali Jafari, commander of the elite military branch, said the guard’s takeover of the nation’s security had led to “a revival of the revolution”.

“These events put us in a new stage of the revolution and political struggles, and all of us must fully comprehend its dimensions,” he said at a Sunday press conference, according to reports that surfaced on Monday.

“Because the Revolutionary Guard was assigned the task of controlling the situation, (it) took the initiative to quell a spiraling unrest. This event pushed us into a new phase of the revolution and political struggles and we have to understand all its dimensions.”