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• 1 media/56b77c83-c1a3-4a69-9d57-e585004eb55d.jpg 2024-10-30T05:12:51-07:00 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps 16 An In-depth Overview of IRGC Structure & Role in Iranian Politics image_header 2024-12-17T19:07:04-08:00   The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), principle armed defender of the anti-Shah 1979 revolution of Iran is a core Iranian armed force operating under the Iranian supreme leader. The Revolutionary Guard started with securing Khomeini, following his return to Iran [choppy wording - insert interview clip]. The principle idea of the Revolutionary Guard formation was “as a counterweight to the traditional armed forces, which were distrusted.”
  
  Aside from containing the potential awry of the Iranian military, Khomeini at the time also used the IRGC force as means to contain the influence of the traditional Iranian army and state institutions which were inherited by the interim Prime Minister, Mehdi Bazargan. Ali Danesh Monfared, in his book has mentioned that the Khomeini wanted to maintain the structural integrity of the Iranian military force, however, deemed it necessary to recruit and mobilize younger, more revolutionary fighters for the Guard Corps unit with the primary duty to protect what he referred to as the “Islamic Revolution.” The Corps also were intended to halter any coup d’état attempts given the tempestuous relationship of the newly formed Islamic Republic, both in the region and globally.
  
  
  Since then, IRGC has remained committed to the Iranian clerics, answering directly to the supreme leader, and above the bounds of Iranian legal and judiciary structure. Strengthening the Guard Corps was a principle concern for the clerics and the supreme leader, immediately after the formation of the interim government, primarily due to “the lack of trust the religious authorities had in the traditional Iranian military and the Bazaari class.”
  
  How did it come about
  IRGC was created as a means of implementing what Khomeini instituted as velayat-e faqih, or guardianship of the jurists/clerics. This implied a religious justification for both creation and expansion of the Revolutionary Guards, overtime. The instrumentalization of religion as the legitimizing factor is what is argued to have strayed the younger, less religiously motivated population of Iran. The concern with Iranian religiosity and the role of the Islamic Republic is a concern discussed in another post, here [Add Link].
  
  
  History
  Following the Iran-Iraq War of 1980-1988, IRGC was then a formal military institution with mission and stakes that formally extended beyond the bounds of the immediate Iran territory. It’s institutionalized model has been considered parallel to the Iran’s regular armed forces according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).
  http://iranefardalive.com/Archive/40580
  
  Structure and chain of command
  
  
  IRGC branches and factions
  Currently, the Revolutionary Guard has stationed ground forces across 31 Iranian provinces and Tehran, amassing over hundreds of thousands of troops. The Corps maintain a separate naval branch which patrols maritime borders, an air force which runs Iran’s ballistic missile program, cyber command which works on “military and commercial espionage, as well as propaganda distribution,” and more parallels distinct from the Iranian army.
  
  Ideology and mission
  In the beginning, IRGC was tasked with securing politically, and socially sensitive sports in Tehran, such as hotels, warehouses, and more, in order to curtail any anti-revolution calls across Iran. It is important to note that this initial institutional positioning occurred since there were no de facto security forces-decided and agreed upon, who could maintain nationwide order amidst the first breaths of post revolution Iran.
  
  The Iran-Iraq war however is the main driver for the legitimacy and expansion of Revolutionary Guards across the sphere of political influence. NEED TO CORRECT THE VOCABULARY ON THIS
  
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  IRGC economic involvement
  IRGC has long been deeply integrated into the Iranian economy and infrastructure, to the point where separating it from the economic body of modern day Iran would prove quite difficult. Exacerbated by the US sanctions against Iran, the Revolutionary Guard’s pocket and vaults run deep through various industries and economic domains. [Add data] 
  
  IRGC political involvement
  In the early days, the Revolutionary Guards were challenged by the state leadership and the Bazaari class, to push back against the hardline-conservative influence of the Supreme Leader. Under the Supreme Leader orders and IRGC execution, Iranian reformist politicians, academics, and civil servants were effectively shut out of key positions and platforms. Overtime, this influence has significantly increased.
  
  IRGC also enjoys what seems to be an impenetrable influence of political prowess, through veterans who carry on to become influential political decision makers. It has veterans taking up roles in senior government positions, the cabinet, parliament, and provinces. Though unpopular at various points among civil activists and population, IRGC gained mass notoriety after shooting down a passenger plane – Ukrainian Airlines Flight 175 - which boarded 176 passengers; mainly Iranians; in January 2020. The commander and personnel involved in the anti-aircraft missile shooting incident were sentenced to up to 13 years in prison. However, the murky reputation of the Revolutionary Guards has yet to recover; especially following the unabashed violence by the Corps following the Woman, Life, Freedom uprising in Iran.
  
  The Basij Force
  The Basij Resistance Force is a paramilitary organization that operates under the IRGC command, on voluntary basis. It was formally added to the Revolutionary Guard ground forces in 1981. However, the then parliamentary speaker Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani’s memoirs indicate a brewing rivalry among the Revolutionary Guard ands and the Basij during the Iran-Iraq war. At the time, Rafsanjani seems to suggest that the Basij were able to attain a menial level of independence, which was later overturned after the formal incorporation of the forces to IRGC, in 2008. Following this, the Basij was expanded across over 21 different branches and spread the influence and message of regime on to the civilians.
  
  The Basij currently maintains branches across virtually every province in Iran where it exercises law enforcement, religious, political, and moral policing, and internal security monitoring. They act as counterparts to socio-political reformist state, and non-regime affiliated institutions.  Nowadays, Basij paramilitary claims it can mobilize up to six hundred thousand volunteers across Iran.
  
  Basij membership are categorized as following;
  • Regular members, who are mobilized in wartime and engage in developmental activities in peacetime. Regular members are volunteers and are unpaid, unless they engage in war-time duty.
  • Active Members, who have had extensive ideological and political indoctrination, and who also receive payment for peacetime work.
  • Special Members, who are paid dual members of the Basij and the IRGC and serve as the IRGC ground forces.
   
  Though voluntary, Basij itself is also divided among three main armed wings and several branches;
  • Ashoura and Al-Zahra Brigades are the security and military branch tasked with “defending the neighborhoods in case of emergencies.”
  • Imam Hossein Brigades are composed of Basij war veterans who cooperate closely with the IRGC ground forces.
  • Imam Ali Brigades deal with security threats.
   
  The force also has multiple branches with specialized functions. They include:
  • Basij of the Guilds [Basij-e Asnaf]
  • Labor Basij [Basij-e Karegaran]
  • Basij of the Nomads [Basij-e ‘Ashayer]
  • Public Servants’ Basij [Basij-e Edarii]
  • Pupil’s Basij [Basij-e Danesh-Amouzi]
  • Student Basij [Basij-e Daneshjouyi]
  Given the grounds up, volunteer based approach to surveillance and enforcement, Basij influence and ties are deeply felt within the neighborhoods and local communities across Iran. Basij holds headquarters across neighborhood through the local mosques.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Notable Assassination and Intimidation Incidents (locally or abroad)
  IRGC now and the predictable future
  
   

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   [MOU1]Add a comparative art IRGC may be using now