Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution

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Army of the Guardians of
the Islamic Revolution
Command
Supreme Leader of Iran
Senior officers
Military Branches
Air Force
Ground Force
Navy
Jerusalem 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) is an ideologically motivated branch[1] of the Islamic Republic of Iran's military.[2]. In Iran the name is commonly shortened to Sepáh e Pásdárán (Army of Guardians), Pásdárán e Enqeláb (پاسداران انقلاب) (Revolutionary Guardians), or simply Pásdárán (پاسداران) ("Guardians") or Sepah (Army). 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.

English-speaking media usually use the term Iranian Revolutionary Guards ("IRG").[3] In the US media, the force is usually referred to as the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps ("IRGC")[4], although this force is rarely described as a "corps" by non-US media.

Contents

[edit] Size and structure

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 equipped with its own ground forces, navy, air force, intelligence[5], 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. [6]

The IISS Military Balance 2007 says the IRGC has 125,000+ personnel and controls the Basij on mobilisation.[7] 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.[8]

The IISS estimates the IRGC Naval Forces are 20,000 strong including 5,000 Marines (one brigade), 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.'

[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 Hormoz, and resistance operations.[9] 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.[10]

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[11]. 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 right-wing Christian groups declared war on the AGIR, claiming they violated Lebanese sovereignty. Others were neutral. 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.[12] Among the dead was General Ahmad Kazemi, the IRG ground forces commander.[13]

[edit] Senior Commanders

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

[edit] Controversy

Branches & Manpower
Quds Force estimated 2,000 or anywhere from 3,000 to 50,000[21][22][23]
Basij 90,000 full-time, 300,000 reservists, 11,000,000 potential strength (2005 est.)[24]
IRGC Navy 20,000 (2005 est.)[25]
IRGC Air Force (unknown)
IRGC Ground Forces ~125,000 (2005 estimates)[citation needed]
Commander in Chief
Mohammed Ali Jafari

[edit] Involvement with Hezbollah

The AGIR's logo was inspiration for the logo of Hezbollah. The IRG provided military training to Hezbollah fighters in the Bekaa valley during the early eighties.[26] Other Lebanese parties[who?] have expressed concern about this relationship but remained neutral as they saw the AGIR's presence in Lebanon as resistance against Israeli presence. This came despite the ongoing fight between the Lebanese Amal militias and the PLO and its Sunni allies.

According to Jane's Information Group:

"Any Hezbollah member receiving military training is likely to do so at the hands of IRGC [the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps], either in southern Lebanon or in camps in Iran. The increasingly sophisticated methods used by IRGC members indicates that they are trained using Israeli and US military manuals; the emphasis of this training is on the tactics of attrition, mobility, intelligence gathering and night-time manoeuvres."[27]

[edit] Involvement in the Iraq War

The U.S. DoD (Department of Defense) has repeatedly asserted IRG involvement in the Iraq War against Iranian denials, though the US has stopped short of saying the central government of Iran is responsible for the actions.[28] In May 2008, Iraq said it had no evidence that Iran was supporting militants on Iraqi soil.[29] The U.S. charges come as Iran and Turkey have complained that U.S.-supplied guns are flowing from Iraq to anti-government militants on their soil.[30][31]

The Department has reported that it has intelligence reports of heavy Islamic Revolutionary Guard involvement in Iraq in which the force is supplying Iraqi insurgents. [32] It is further claimed that US soldiers have been killed by Iranian-made or designed explosive devices. This claim is disputed by Iran, saying that the bulk of American military deaths in Iraq are due to a Sunni insurgency and not a Shiite one. Two different studies have maintained that approximately half of all foreign insurgents entering Iraq come from Saudi Arabia.[33][34] Iran further disputes that former Iraqi army personnel, whom, prior to the 2003 invasion, the US and UK claimed were capable of deploying advanced missile systems capable of launching WMDs within 45 minutes[35][36], would be incapable of designing and producing improvised explosive devices.[citation needed]

Main article: US raid on Iranian liaison office in Arbil

The U.S. charges of Iranian support come as Iran and Turkey have complained that U.S.-supplied guns are flowing from Iraq to anti-government militants on their soil.[30][31][37] The Government Accountability Office (GAO), the investigative arm of the US Congress, said in a report that the Pentagon cannot account for 190,000 AK-47 rifles and pistols given to Iraqi security forces. [38] Security analysts with the Centre for Defence Information, along with one senior Pentagon official, suggested that some of the weapons have probably made their way in to the hands of Iraqi insurgents. [39] Italian arms investigators also recently stopped Iraqi government officials from illegally shipping more than 100,000 Russian-made automatic weapons into Iraq.[30][31]

In January 2007 the US army detained five Iranians in northern Iraq, claiming they were Quds operatives of the AGIR, providing military assistance to Shiite militias. The Iranian and Iraqi governments maintain that they were diplomats working for the Iranian consulate in Iraqi Kurdistan. The IRGC cadres were released as a negotiated deal for British sailors under the auspices of General Suleimani.

[edit] Labeling by the United States as a "Terrorist Organization"

Further information: United States-Iran relations#Possible IRGC terrorist designation by the United States

On October 25, 2007, the United States labeled the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL) as "terrorist organizations" with the Kyl-Lieberman Amendment. [40]

When Voice of America, the official external radio and television broadcasting service of the United States federal government, asked if the IRGC is supplying weapons to the Taliban, the current president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, laughed and said the US doesn't want Iran to be friends with Afghanistan. "What is the reason they are saying such things?" asked Ahmadinejad. [41]

In response to the designation, the Iranian Parliament responded by approving a nonbinding resolution labeling the CIA and the U.S. Army "terrorist organizations". The resolution cited U.S. involvement in dropping nuclear bombs in Japan in World War II, using depleted uranium munitions in the Balkans, bombing and killing Iraqi civilians, and torturing terror suspects in prisons among others.[42]

[edit] References and notes

  1. ^ Frykberg, MelL (2008-08-29). "Mideast Powers, Proxies and Paymasters Bluster and Rearm", Middle East Times. Retrieved on 2008-08-29. 
  2. ^ IISS Military Balance 2006, Routledge for the IISS, London, 2006, p.187
  3. ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/frontpage/story/0,,2051927,00.html
  4. ^ [1][2][3]
  5. ^ [4]
  6. ^ ICL - Iran - Constitution
  7. ^ IISS Military Balance 2006, Routledge for the IISS, London, 2007
  8. ^ See the Yahoo Groups TOE Group for an estimated Iranian ground force order of battle.
  9. ^ [5]
  10. ^ [6]
  11. ^ frontline: terror and Tehran: inside Iran: the structure of power in Iran | PBS
  12. ^ Iran’s top military commanders die in plane crash
  13. ^ Plane crash kills Iran commander
  14. ^ Mideast Powers, Proxies and Paymasters Bluster and Rearm
  15. ^ [www.iranfocus.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=5206 Iran’s top military commanders die in plane crash]
  16. ^ a b http://www.khamenei.ir/EN/Message/detail.jsp?id=20060121A
  17. ^ Iran to hold large-scale naval war games
  18. ^ Niruyeh Moghavemat Basij Mobilisation Resistance Force
  19. ^ Iran Revolutionary Guards expect key changes in high command
  20. ^ Iran: New chief appointed for secretive military unit
  21. ^ Daragahi, Borzou and Spiegel, Peter. "Iran's elite and mysterious fighters", Los Angeles Times, February 15, 2007. Retrieved February 15, 2007.
  22. ^ "Experts: Iran's Quds Force Deeply Enmeshed in Iraq", Fox News, February 15, 2007. Retrieved February 15, 2007.
  23. ^ Shane, Scott. "Iranian Force, Focus of U.S., Still a Mystery", The New York Times, February 17, 2007. Retrieved February 17, 2007.
  24. ^ GlobalSecurity.org [http://www.globalsecurity.org/intell/world/iran/basij.htm Niruyeh Moghavemat Basij Mobilisation Resistance Force] 19 February 2006
  25. ^ Center for Strategic and International Studies The Gulf Military Forces in an Era of Asymmetric War - Iran 28 June 2006
  26. ^ (Baer, R, See No Evil, 2002, Three Rivers Press, page 250)
  27. ^ Group Profile: Hezbollah. Jane's Information Group. 26 July 2006. Accessed 8 September 2006
  28. ^ Iran's Revolutionary Guards patrol Persian Gulf, U.S. says
  29. ^ AFP: 'No evidence' Iran backs militias - Baghdad
  30. ^ a b c Italian arms investigators see Iraqi ties
  31. ^ a b c Pentagon probes if US arms for Iraq diverted to Turkey
  32. ^ Iran's secret plan for summer offensive to force US out of Iraq | The Guardian | Guardian Unlimited
  33. ^ The battle for Saudi hearts and minds
  34. ^ Saudis' role in Iraq insurgency outlined
  35. ^ British Intelligence Dossier on Iraq's WMD
  36. ^ Iraq WMD claims 'seriously flawed'
  37. ^ Weapons for Iraq sent astray
  38. ^ Weapons Given to Iraq Are Missing
  39. ^ Iraqis ‘lose’ thousands of US
  40. ^ Fact Sheet: Designation of Iranian Entities and Individuals for Proliferation Activities and Support for Terrorism
  41. ^ Ahmadinejad Makes First Visit to Afghanistan
  42. ^ Iran's parliament votes to label CIA, U.S. Army 'terrorist' groups

[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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