[lingben]

Yes, the vast majority of Iranian youth are quite poor and have no real prospects for gaining employment or wealth or moving up in the world except the one presented by the theocratic regime.

For them the only prospect is to ingratiate themselves through the basij and other similar organizations so they can then gain employment with the government or with the many bonyads which overwhelmingly control the Iranian economy.

Employment with the government or bonyads is not based on merit but through a test of loyalty to the Islamic revolutionary ideas. If you can distinguish yourself through zealous service and unquestioning devotion, then you stand a chance of gaining a foothold.

By the by, the Basij were the ones on the front lines in the 2009 protests brutally suppressing the street marchers.

That's the only possible avenue of advancement for the vast majority of Iran's youth who do not come from a 'connected family' and/or do not have a wealthy family that will give them a leg up.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basij

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonyad

[616c]

Agreeing with personal anecdote: the more people under 30 I met there, the more scary it was and relieving to me that I was never as stuck as they will have been their whole lives.