Irans Military in a nutshell…
IRGC: ~150k. Ideologically driven, often recruited from hyper religious families and further brainwashed and indoctrinated into the regime. Their entire existence is to protect the regime. They are well taken care of financially and are not feeling the effects as the average Iranian from a financial standpoint. They’re beneficiaries of the Islamic republic, and with almost certainty will defend the regime until it’s clearly inevitable for collapse.
Artesh: ~300k. This is the typical military. Trained like any other military. They are not as ideologically driven as the IRGC, and while trained adequately as far as being a military, they don’t have the level of resources and training as the IRGC. Most Iranian men upon turning 18 have to serve at least 2 years in the military. Their job is to protect Iran defensively, but like the IRGC they take ultimate command from the regime and supreme leader. While conceivable they could defect, it’s highly unlikely as traitors are quickly executed. Again, unless collapse was at 100% certainty, people run the risk of imminent death if they defect.
Basij: A paramilitary force of volunteers. Anywhere between 100k to 1 million depending on a lot of factors. They are not nearly as trained as the military forces mentioned above. They are essentially hyper religious thugs from the street that weren’t cut out for the IRGC. The government offers job prospects, promotions, etc in favor of their assistance when necessary. They are often most responsible for civilian suppression. They are not as organized as the military, but they are used as an accessory force of the IRGC.
So to answer
@hog88 and your question, because they don’t want to die, and more importantly they don’t want their family to die. They have massacred 10s of thousands on the street. They will hang recognizable professional athletes publically. They do all of this for suppression. It’s a hostage state.