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Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution

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This article is about the organization in Iran. For the Libyan organization, see Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Army of the Guardians of
the Islamic Revolution
Command
Supreme Leader of Iran
Senior officers
Military Branches
Air Force
Ground Force
Navy
Quds Force
Basij
Missile Forces
Missile Forces
Personnel
Ranks insignia
Facilities
Baqiyatallah University
History
Iranian Revolution
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The Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution (Persian: سپاه پاسداران انقلاب اسلامی , Sepáh e Pásdárán e Enqeláb e Eslámi, also Pásdárán) is a branch of Iran's military, founded after the Iranian revolution.[1] The foundation of the army was ideologically motivated.[2] The present Chief Commander of the Guardians is Mohammed Ali Jafari, who was preceded by Yahya Rahim Safavi. Like many young Iranians during the 1980-88 Iran–Iraq War, Iran's current president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was a member of the Army of Guardians, specifically as a member of the Basij militia, a paramilitary force that is subservient to the Guard.

The Pásdárán have their own ministry, and are thought to number as many as 120,000 with their own small naval and air units. They also control the Basij volunteer force.[3]

Contents

[edit] Terminology

In Iran the name is commonly shortened to Sepáh e Pásdárán (Army of Guardians), Pásdárán e Enqeláb (پاسداران انقلاب) (Revolutionary Guards), or simply Pásdárán (پاسداران) (Guardians) or Sepah (Army).

English-speaking media usually use the term Iranian Revolutionary Guards ("IRG").[4] In the US media, the force is frequently referred to as the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps ("IRGC"),[5][6][7], although this force is rarely described as a "corps" by non-US media.

[edit] Size and structure

Branches & Manpower
Quds Force estimated 2,000 or anywhere from 3,000 to 50,000[8][9][10]
Basij 90,000 full-time, 300,000 reservists, 11,000,000 potential strength (2005 est.)[11]
IRGC Navy 20,000 (2005 est.)[12]
IRGC Air Force (unknown)
IRGC Ground Forces ~125,000 (2005 estimates)[citation needed]
Commander in Chief
Mohammed Ali Jafari

The IRG is separate from, and parallel to, the other arm of the Iran's military, which is called Artesh (another Persian word for army). The IRG is a combined arms force with its own ground forces, navy, air force, intelligence[13], and special forces. It also controls Basij force, which has a potential strength of eleven million, although Basij is a volunteer-based force, and consists of 90,000 regular soldiers and 300,000 reservists. The IRG is officially recognized as a component of the Iranian military under Article 150 of the Iranian Constitution. [14]

The IISS Military Balance 2007 says the IRGC has 125,000+ personnel and controls the Basij on mobilisation.[15] It estimates the IRGC Ground and Air Forces are 100,000 strong and is 'very lightly manned' in peacetime. It estimates there are up to 20 infantry divisions, some independent brigades, and one airborne brigade.[16]

The IISS estimates the IRGC Naval Forces are 20,000 strong including 5,000 Marines in one brigade of three or four Marine Battalions.[17], and are equipped with some coastal defence weapons (some HY-2/CSS-C-3 Seersucker SSM batteries and some artillery batteries) and 50 patrol boats (including 10 Chinese Houdang fast attack craft). The IRGC air arm, says the IISS, controls Iran's strategic missile force and has an estimated one brigade of Shahab-1/2 with 12-18 launchers, and a Shahab-3 unit. The IISS says of the Shahab-3 unit 'estimated 1 battalion with estimated 6 single launchers each with estimated 4 Shahab-3 strategic IRBM.'

The elite Ghods Force, sometimes described as being the successor to the Shah's Imperial Guards, is estimated to be 2000-5000 in number.[3]

[edit] Senior commanders

Further information: List of senior officers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards

[edit] History

The force's main role is in national security, responsible for internal and border security, as well as law enforcement. It is also responsible for Iran's missile forces. The operations of the IRGC are geared towards asymmetric warfare and less traditional duties. These include the control of smuggling, control of the Strait of Hormuz, and resistance operations.[25] Thus, the role of the IRG will complement the more traditional role of the regular Iranian military with the two forces operating separately and focusing on different operational roles.[25]

The IRG were formed in May 1979 as a force loyal to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, but later became a full military force alongside the army in the Iran–Iraq War. It was infamous for its human wave attacks such as during Operation Ramadan, an assault on the city of Basra.

[edit] Iran–Iraq War

Main article: Iran–Iraq War

[edit] Lebanon Civil War

During the Lebanese civil war, the IRG allegedly sent troops to train fighters in response to the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon[26]. In Lebanon, political parties had staunch opinions regarding the AGIR's presence. Some, mainly the Christian militias such as the Lebanese Forces, Phalanges, and most of the Christian groups declared war on the AGIR, claiming they violated Lebanese sovereignty, while others, including Muslim militias, were neutral to their presense. Groups such as the PSP and Mourabiton did not approve of their presence, but to serve political alliances they decided to remain silent on the matter.

[edit] 2006 plane crash

In January 2006, an IRG Falcon carrying fifteen passengers crashed near Oroumieh, killing all 15, including 12 senior IRG commanders.[27] Among the dead was General Ahmad Kazemi, the IRG ground forces commander.[28]

[edit] Possible attacks on Quds Force

On July 7, 2008, Pulitzer Prize winning investigative journalist and author Seymour Hersh wrote an article in the New Yorker stating that the Bush Administration had signed a Presidential Finding authorizing the CIA's Special Activities Division to begin cross border paramilitary operations from Iraq and Afghanistan into Iran. These operations would be against the Quds Force, the commando arm of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard that had been blamed for repeated acts of violence in Iraq, and “high-value targets” in the President’s war on terror. [29]

[edit] Influence

This section requires expansion.

[edit] Political

As an elite group, members of Pasdaran have influence in Iran's political world. President Ahmadinejad is a veteran of the corp which he joined in 1985 serving first in military operation in Iraqi Kurdistan before leaving the front line to take charge of logistics. Nearly one third of the members elected to Iran's majlis in 2004 are "Pásdárán" according to analyst Olivier Roy.[30]

In the days before the 2009 presidential election, the Revolutionary Guard warned against a "velvet revolution" and vowed to crush any attempt at one.[31] Three weeks after the election the Guard's commander, Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari, "publicly acknowledged they had taken over the nation's security during the post-election unrest" and called this `a revival of the revolution,` in a press conference.[32] Another Guard general Yadollah Javani, stated that there would be no middle ground in the dispute over the election results, there being only two currents -- "those who defend and support the revolution and the establishment, and those who are trying to topple it." The Basiji militia, was formally placed under the command of the Revolutionary Guard earlier in 2009.[32]

[edit] Economic activity

The IRGC are thought to control around a third of Iran's economy through a series of subsidiaries and trusts.[33] The Los Angeles Times estimates that IRGC ties to over one hundred companies that control more than $12 billion in business and construction.[34] IRGC has been awarded billions of dollars in contracts in the oil, gas and petrochemical industries, as well as major infrastructure projects.[35]

[edit] Controversy

Main article: Controversies surrounding Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution

Since its establishment, AGIR has been involved in many economic and military activities among which some raised controversies. The organization has been accused of smuggling — including importing illegal alcoholic beverages into Iran[36] — training Hezbollah[37] and Hamas[38] fighters, and has been accused by the US government of being involved in the Iraq War.[39]

[edit] References and notes

  1. ^ IISS Military Balance 2006, Routledge for the IISS, London, 2006, p.187
  2. ^ Frykberg, MelL (2008-08-29). "Mideast Powers, Proxies and Paymasters Bluster and Rearm". Middle East Times. http://www.metimes.com/International/2008/08/29/mideast_powers_proxies_and_paymasters_bluster_and_rearm/5485/. Retrieved on 2008-08-29. 
  3. ^ a b Abrahamian, Ervand, History of Modern Iran, Columbia University Press, 2008 p.175-6
  4. ^ Someone said, 'Lads, I think we're going to be executed' 7 April 2007
  5. ^ Brainroom Facts: Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, Friday, March 23, 2007
  6. ^ Newsweek, (dead link)
  7. ^ Why Iran Seized the British Marines, By Howard Chua-Eoan/New York, Mar. 23, 2007
  8. ^ Daragahi, Borzou and Spiegel, Peter. "Iran's elite and mysterious fighters", Los Angeles Times, February 15, 2007. Retrieved February 15, 2007.
  9. ^ "Experts: Iran's Ghods Force Deeply Enmeshed in Iraq", Fox News, February 15, 2007. Retrieved February 15, 2007.
  10. ^ Shane, Scott. "Iranian Force, Focus of U.S., Still a Mystery", The New York Times, February 17, 2007. Retrieved February 17, 2007.
  11. ^ GlobalSecurity.org [http://www.globalsecurity.org/intell/world/iran/basij.htm Niruyeh Moghavemat Basij Mobilisation Resistance Force] 19 February 2006
  12. ^ Center for Strategic and International Studies The Gulf Military Forces in an Era of Asymmetric War - Iran 28 June 2006
  13. ^ [http://www.janes.co.uk/security/international_security/news/jdw/jdw061004_1_n.shtml Janes internatinal security news (dead link)
  14. ^ ICL - Iran - Constitution
  15. ^ IISS Military Balance 2006, Routledge for the IISS, London, 2007
  16. ^ See the Yahoo Groups TOE Group for an estimated Iranian ground force order of battle.
  17. ^ The IISS estimates the IRGC Naval Forces are 20,000 strong including 5,000 Marines (one brigade),
  18. ^ Mideast Powers, Proxies and Paymasters Bluster and Rearm
  19. ^ [www.iranfocus.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=5206 Iran’s top military commanders die in plane crash]
  20. ^ a b http://www.khamenei.ir/EN/Message/detail.jsp?id=20060121A
  21. ^ Iran to hold large-scale naval war games
  22. ^ Niruyeh Moghavemat Basij Mobilisation Resistance Force
  23. ^ Iran Revolutionary Guards expect key changes in high command
  24. ^ Iran: New chief appointed for secretive military unit
  25. ^ a b [1]
  26. ^ frontline: terror and Tehran: inside Iran: the structure of power in Iran | PBS
  27. ^ Iran’s top military commanders die in plane crash
  28. ^ Plane crash kills Iran commander
  29. ^ Hersh, Seymour (2008-07-07). "Preparing the Battlefield: The Bush Administration steps up its secret moves against Iran". The New Yorker. http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/07/07/080707fa_fact_hersh?currentPage=all.
  30. ^ Roy, Olivier, The Politics of Chaos in the Middle East, Columbia University Press, 2008, p.133, 135
  31. ^ Iranian Revolutionary Guard won't tolerate 'velvet revolution' John Lyons, Tehran | June 12, 2009. accessed 9-July-2009
  32. ^ a b Iran's Revolutionary Guard acknowledges taking a bigger role in nation's security By Borzou Daragahi. July 6, 2009. accessed 9-July-2009
  33. ^ "Profile: Iran's Revolutionary Guards" (in English). BBC News. 2007-10-26. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7064353.stm. Retrieved on 2008-12-27. 
  34. ^ Kim Murphy (2007-08-26). "Iran’s $12-billion enforcers" (in English). Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/2007/aug/26/world/fg-guards26. Retrieved on 2008-12-27. 
  35. ^ Azadeh Moaveni (2007-09-05 As enforcers of cross border activities, the IRGC has maintained a monopoly on smuggling, arresting competitors and controlling the vast bulk of the Iranian alcohol, tobacco, opium, etc industries. As enforcers of Iranian moral codes, the IRGC uses its power to control the prostitution rackets as well.). "Iran's Rich Revolutionary Guard" (in English). Time. http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1659039,00.html. Retrieved on 2008-12-27. 
  36. ^ The Iran Agenda by By Reese Erlich, Robert (FRW) Scheer
  37. ^ (Baer, R, See No Evil, 2002, Three Rivers Press, page 250)
  38. ^ Mark Mazzetti, "Striking Deep Into Israel, Hamas Employs an Upgraded Rocket Arsenal," New York Times, January 1, 2009.
  39. ^ Iran's Revolutionary Guards patrol Persian Gulf, U.S. says

[edit] Further reading

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Army · Navy · Air Force · Islamic Revolutionary Guards
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