Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps

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Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps

IRGC Military Branches
IRGC Air Force Army Navy Qods Force Basij
Personnel
Senior officers IRGC Ranks Insignia

Branches & Manpower
Qods Force	(unknown)
Basij	11,000,000 (2005 est.)
IRGC Navy	20,000 (2005 est.)
IRGC Air Force	(unknown)
IRGC Ground Forces	(unknown)
Commander in Chief

Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (Persian: سپاه پاسداران انقلاب اسلامی - Sepah-e Pasdaran-e Enghelab-e Islami), often shortened to Revolutionary Guards, or called by its Persian (Farsi) name Sepah (meaning army) or Pasdaran (meaning "guardians"), is the largest^[1] military organisation of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The literal Persian (Farsi) translation of the name means "The Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution".

The Sepah-e Pasdaran is separate from, and parallel to, the Iranian army. They are equipped with their own navy, air force, intelligence, ^[2]ground troops and special forces. The force is also responsible for Iran's missile forces. The operations of the Sepah-e Pasdaran are geared towards asymmetric warfare and less traditional duties. These include the control of smuggling, control of the Strait of Hormoz, and resistance operations.^[3]

Following the end of the Iran-Iraq war, some efforts were made to create a joint command between the Army and the Revolutionary Guards, but these have been limited in nature and have not had a dramatic impact. ^{[citation needed]} Ultimately, it seems that the two forces will operate separately but focus on different operational roles.^[4]

The IRGC was 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.

The present Chief Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps is Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi who was preceded by Mohsen Rezaee. Iran's current president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was a member of the Revolutionary Guards during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war.

1 Lebanon and Hezbollah
2 References and notes
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Lebanon and Hezbollah

The group's logo was inspiration for the Lebanese political party Hezbollah. It has also been claimed that the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps has given many of Hezbollah militants and warlords military training in their military bases.^[5]

During the Lebanese civil war the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps sent troops to train resistance fighters in response to the Israeli invasion of Lebanon (1982)^[6] In Lebanon, political parties had staunch opinions regarding the guards presence. Some, mainly the Christian militias as the Lebanese Forces declared war on them, and claimed they were invading Lebanese sovereignty. This has also later been linked to the disappearance of four Iranian diplomats in Lebanon, with the Lebanese Forces being the main culprits.

Other sides, have expressed concern but remained neutral as they saw the guard's presence in Lebanon as another resistance against Israel. This came despite the ongoing fight between the Shiaa Amal militias and the PLO. These sides were mostly Sunni militias, such as the 'Murabitoun', who were allies with the PLO.

The IRGC in Lebanon were later incorporated in the Islamic Resistance, and were known as the Jihad movement. The 'Jihad' claimed responsibly for several attacks against US Marines and French paratroopers. They were later called 'The Islamic Resistance of Lebanon' and were simply known as the military branch of Hezbollah.