ARMY OF THE GUARDIANS OF THE ISLAMIC REVOLUTION
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(Redirected from Sepah-e Pasdaran)
The 'Islamic Revolution's Guards Corp' (Persian:' سپاه پاسداران انقلاب اسلامی' - '''Sepah-e Pasdaran-e Enghelab-e Islami'''), also known as the 'Guards Corp' ('''Sepah-e Pasdaran'''), the 'Revolutionary Guards' ('''Pasdaran-e Enghelab'''), or simply the 'Guards' ('''Pasdaran'''), is the largest branch of the Islamic Republic of Iran's military.[1] The present Chief Commander of the AGIR 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 Revolutionary Guard, subordinate to the AGIR.
In English language media the force is also commonly referred to as the 'Islamic Revolutionary Guards' or simply 'Revolutionary Guards'. In the USA, the media uses the term 'Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)'[2] The term 'Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRG)' appears to be the preferred term of the British Armed Forces, and was used by Lt. Felix Carman when discussing his capture.[3]
The AGIR is separate from, and parallel to, the other branch of the Iran's military, which is called Artech (another Persian word for army). Hence, AGIR is equipped with its own ground forces, navy, air force, intelligence[4], and special forces. It also controls Basij force, which has a potential strength of eleven million, although Basij is a volunteer-based force, and essentially consists of 90,000 regular soldiers and 300,000 reservists.
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 AGIR are geared towards asymmetric warfare and less traditional duties. These include the control of smuggling, control of the Strait of Hormoz, and resistance operations.[5] Thus, the role of the AGIR will complement the more traditional role of the regular Iranian military with the two forces operating separately and focusing on different operational roles.[5]
Iran's revolutionary guard in Persian is named "Sepah-e-Pasdaran" was based on German translation of Schutzstaffel (SS) meaning "Protective Squadron"
The AGIR 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.
During the Lebanese civil war, the AGIR allegedly sent troops to train fighters in response to the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon[7].
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. This presence has also later been linked to the disappearance of four Iranian diplomats in Lebanon, with the Lebanese Forces being the main culprits.
In January 2006, an IRGC Falcon carrying fifteen passengers crashed near Oroumieh, killing all 15, including 12 senior IRGC commanders.[5] Among the dead was General Ahmad Kazemi, the IRGC ground forces commander. [6]
The AGIR's logo was inspiration for the logo of Hezbollah. It is believed that the AGIR provided military training to Hezbollah fighters in the Bekaa valley during the early eighties.[8] It is also believed that Hezbollah continues to receive support from the AGIR.
Other Lebanese parties 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 Shiaa Amal militias and the PLO and its Sunni allies.
The U.S. DoD (Department of Defense) has heavily disputed alleged AGIR involvement in Iran. The Department has reported that it has intelligence reports of heavy Islamic Revolutionary Guard involvement in Iraq in which the force is supplying Shia militias, including the Mahdi Army. It is further claimed that US soldiers have been killed by Iranian-made or designed explosive devices. This claim is disputed by Iran in that the Mahdi Army leader, Moqtada al-Sadr, is fiercely anti-Iranian, and 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.[9][10] 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[11][12], would be incapable of designing and producing improvised explosive devices.
Main articles: US raid on Iranian liaison office in Arbil
These charges come as the United States has its own trouble tracking weapons being supplied to Iraq. The Government Accountability Office (GAO), the investigative arm of the US Congress, said in a July 31 (2007) report that 135,000 out of 215,000 items of body armor were missing and that the Pentagon cannot account for 190,000 AK-47 rifles and pistols given to Iraqi security forces between 2004 and 2005. [13]. 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. [14] This comes as Italian arms investigators stopped Iraqi government officials from illegally shipping more than 100,000 Russian-made automatic weapons into Iraq. The situation has led Turkey and Iran to complain U.S.-supplied guns are flowing from Iraq to anti-government militants on their soil.[15][16]
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.
In August 2007, the Washington Post reported the U.S. government was considering labeling the Revolutionary Guard a "terrorist organization." This possible decision to designate the Guard as a terrorist group, according to Bush administration officials[17], was based on
The designation of the Revolutionary Guard will be made under Executive Order 13224, which allows the United States to block the assets of those designated as terrorists and to disrupt operations by foreign businesses that "provide support, services or assistance to, or otherwise associate with, terrorists." [18]
President Karzai of Afghanistan has argued that Iran is "a helper and a solution"[19] for Afghanistan while Prime Minister Maliki of Iraq has argued that Iran has a "positive and constructive" role in helping the Iraqi government improve security in his wartorn nation.[20] When asked if Iran is supplying weapons to the Taliban by Voice of America, a U.S.-funded outlet, current president of the Islamic Republic 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 Ahmedinejad. [21]
Joseph Cirincione, a nuclear proliferation expert at the Center for American Progress, said after the move "the only way you could get a nuclear deal is as part of a grand bargain, which at this point is completely out of reach."[22] Michael Rubin, a senior research fellow with the conservative American Enterprise Institute, said he feared the designation "might exculpate the rest of the regime when, in reality, the IRGC's activities cannot be separated from the state leadership of Supreme Leader Khamenei or President Ahmadinejad". [23] The Iranian daily Kayhan quoted the commander of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards as threatening to deal heavier blows in the future against the United States in response to the designation.[24] Mohammad Khatami, former Reforms Front President of Iran hoped to "remind those in the U.S. Congress or elsewhere working for the benefit of the American nation to stand against these measures or the wall between the two countries grow taller and thicker".[25]
This will be the first time official armed units of a sovereign state are included in the list of banned terrorist groups.[26] Kaveh L Afrasiabi, a former consultant to the UN's program of Dialogue Among Civilizations and a consultant to CBS' 60 Minutes[27], states in ''Asia Times Online'' that the move has possible legal implication. "Under international law, it could be challenged as illegal, and untenable, by isolating a branch of the Iranian government for selective targeting. This is contrary to the 1981 Algiers Accord's pledge of non-interference in Iran's internal affairs by the US government," Afrasiabi writes. [28]
1. http://memritv.org/Transcript.asp?P1=1314
2. [1][2] [3]
3. [4]
4. http://www.janes.co.uk/security/international_security/news/jdw/jdw061004_1_n.shtml
5. http://www.janes.co.uk/defence/news/jwar/jwar060829_1_n.shtml
6. http://www.janes.co.uk/defence/news/jwar/jwar060829_1_n.shtml
7. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/tehran/inside/govt.html#snsc
8. (Baer, R, ''See No Evil'', 2002, Three Rivers Press, page 250)
9. The battle for Saudi hearts and minds
10. Saudis' role in Iraq insurgency outlined
11. British Intelligence Dossier on Iraq's WMD
12. Iraq WMD claims 'seriously flawed'
13. Weapons Given to Iraq Are Missing
14. Iraqis ‘lose’ thousands of US
15. Italian arms investigators see Iraqi ties
16. Pentagon probes if US arms for Iraq diverted to Turkey
17. Iranian Unit to Be Labeled 'Terrorist'
18. U.S. to Label Iran Revolutionary Guard ‘Terrorists’
19. US feels heat as Iranian leader visits Afghanistan
20. Leader: Iran, Iraq Must Work Together
21. Ahmadinejad Makes First Visit to Afghanistan
22. Iranian Unit to Be Labeled 'Terrorist'
23. Iran Still Evading UN Sanctions, Says Policy Expert
24. Iran Guards warn U.S. of heavier blows ahead: report
25. U.S. intellectuals prevent extremist views: Khatami
26. Iran Guards 'join US terror list'
27. Featured writer: Kaveh Afrasiabi
28. US steps closer to war with Iran
★ Ali Movahedi-Kermani
★ Ali-Reza Asgari
★ AP: U.S. envoy: Iran Revolutionary Guards Quds Force director detained
★ Iranian Military Pictures & videos
★ Foxes in Iran's Henhouse, a New York Times article about the role of the Revolutionary Guards in Iran's power structure
★ link to GlobalSecurity.org
★ AGIR navy, air forces to launch wargame in Persian Gulf, Oman Sea
★ Inside the Danger Zone: The U.S. Military in the Persian Gulf 1987-88, Wise, Harold Lee, , , Naval Institute Press, 2007, ISBN 1-59114-970-3 (discusses U.S. military clashes with Iranian Revolutionary Guard during the Iran-Iraq War)
The 'Islamic Revolution's Guards Corp' (Persian:' سپاه پاسداران انقلاب اسلامی' - '''Sepah-e Pasdaran-e Enghelab-e Islami'''), also known as the 'Guards Corp' ('''Sepah-e Pasdaran'''), the 'Revolutionary Guards' ('''Pasdaran-e Enghelab'''), or simply the 'Guards' ('''Pasdaran'''), is the largest branch of the Islamic Republic of Iran's military.[1] The present Chief Commander of the AGIR 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 Revolutionary Guard, subordinate to the AGIR.
In English language media the force is also commonly referred to as the 'Islamic Revolutionary Guards' or simply 'Revolutionary Guards'. In the USA, the media uses the term 'Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)'[2] The term 'Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRG)' appears to be the preferred term of the British Armed Forces, and was used by Lt. Felix Carman when discussing his capture.[3]
The AGIR is separate from, and parallel to, the other branch of the Iran's military, which is called Artech (another Persian word for army). Hence, AGIR is equipped with its own ground forces, navy, air force, intelligence[4], and special forces. It also controls Basij force, which has a potential strength of eleven million, although Basij is a volunteer-based force, and essentially consists of 90,000 regular soldiers and 300,000 reservists.
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 AGIR are geared towards asymmetric warfare and less traditional duties. These include the control of smuggling, control of the Strait of Hormoz, and resistance operations.[5] Thus, the role of the AGIR will complement the more traditional role of the regular Iranian military with the two forces operating separately and focusing on different operational roles.[5]
Iran's revolutionary guard in Persian is named "Sepah-e-Pasdaran" was based on German translation of Schutzstaffel (SS) meaning "Protective Squadron"
The AGIR 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.
Lebanon Civil War
During the Lebanese civil war, the AGIR allegedly sent troops to train fighters in response to the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon[7].
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. This presence has also later been linked to the disappearance of four Iranian diplomats in Lebanon, with the Lebanese Forces being the main culprits.
2006 plane crash
In January 2006, an IRGC Falcon carrying fifteen passengers crashed near Oroumieh, killing all 15, including 12 senior IRGC commanders.[5] Among the dead was General Ahmad Kazemi, the IRGC ground forces commander. [6]
Controversy
| 'Branches & Manpower' | |
| 'Quds Force' | estimated 2,000 or anywhere from 3,000 to 50,000 |
| 'Basij' | 90,000 full-time, 300,000 reservists, 11,000,000 potential strength (2005 est.) |
| 'IRGC Navy' | 20,000 (2005 est.) |
| 'IRGC Air Force' | (unknown) |
| 'IRGC Ground Forces' | (unknown) |
| 'Commander in Chief' | |
| 'Mohammed Ali Jafari' | |
Involvement with Hezbollah
The AGIR's logo was inspiration for the logo of Hezbollah. It is believed that the AGIR provided military training to Hezbollah fighters in the Bekaa valley during the early eighties.[8] It is also believed that Hezbollah continues to receive support from the AGIR.
Other Lebanese parties 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 Shiaa Amal militias and the PLO and its Sunni allies.
Involvement in the Iraq War
The U.S. DoD (Department of Defense) has heavily disputed alleged AGIR involvement in Iran. The Department has reported that it has intelligence reports of heavy Islamic Revolutionary Guard involvement in Iraq in which the force is supplying Shia militias, including the Mahdi Army. It is further claimed that US soldiers have been killed by Iranian-made or designed explosive devices. This claim is disputed by Iran in that the Mahdi Army leader, Moqtada al-Sadr, is fiercely anti-Iranian, and 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.[9][10] 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[11][12], would be incapable of designing and producing improvised explosive devices.
Main articles: US raid on Iranian liaison office in Arbil
These charges come as the United States has its own trouble tracking weapons being supplied to Iraq. The Government Accountability Office (GAO), the investigative arm of the US Congress, said in a July 31 (2007) report that 135,000 out of 215,000 items of body armor were missing and that the Pentagon cannot account for 190,000 AK-47 rifles and pistols given to Iraqi security forces between 2004 and 2005. [13]. 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. [14] This comes as Italian arms investigators stopped Iraqi government officials from illegally shipping more than 100,000 Russian-made automatic weapons into Iraq. The situation has led Turkey and Iran to complain U.S.-supplied guns are flowing from Iraq to anti-government militants on their soil.[15][16]
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.
Terrorist designation by the United States
In August 2007, the Washington Post reported the U.S. government was considering labeling the Revolutionary Guard a "terrorist organization." This possible decision to designate the Guard as a terrorist group, according to Bush administration officials[17], was based on
The designation of the Revolutionary Guard will be made under Executive Order 13224, which allows the United States to block the assets of those designated as terrorists and to disrupt operations by foreign businesses that "provide support, services or assistance to, or otherwise associate with, terrorists." [18]
President Karzai of Afghanistan has argued that Iran is "a helper and a solution"[19] for Afghanistan while Prime Minister Maliki of Iraq has argued that Iran has a "positive and constructive" role in helping the Iraqi government improve security in his wartorn nation.[20] When asked if Iran is supplying weapons to the Taliban by Voice of America, a U.S.-funded outlet, current president of the Islamic Republic 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 Ahmedinejad. [21]
Joseph Cirincione, a nuclear proliferation expert at the Center for American Progress, said after the move "the only way you could get a nuclear deal is as part of a grand bargain, which at this point is completely out of reach."[22] Michael Rubin, a senior research fellow with the conservative American Enterprise Institute, said he feared the designation "might exculpate the rest of the regime when, in reality, the IRGC's activities cannot be separated from the state leadership of Supreme Leader Khamenei or President Ahmadinejad". [23] The Iranian daily Kayhan quoted the commander of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards as threatening to deal heavier blows in the future against the United States in response to the designation.[24] Mohammad Khatami, former Reforms Front President of Iran hoped to "remind those in the U.S. Congress or elsewhere working for the benefit of the American nation to stand against these measures or the wall between the two countries grow taller and thicker".[25]
This will be the first time official armed units of a sovereign state are included in the list of banned terrorist groups.[26] Kaveh L Afrasiabi, a former consultant to the UN's program of Dialogue Among Civilizations and a consultant to CBS' 60 Minutes[27], states in ''Asia Times Online'' that the move has possible legal implication. "Under international law, it could be challenged as illegal, and untenable, by isolating a branch of the Iranian government for selective targeting. This is contrary to the 1981 Algiers Accord's pledge of non-interference in Iran's internal affairs by the US government," Afrasiabi writes. [28]
References and notes
1. http://memritv.org/Transcript.asp?P1=1314
2. [1][2] [3]
3. [4]
4. http://www.janes.co.uk/security/international_security/news/jdw/jdw061004_1_n.shtml
5. http://www.janes.co.uk/defence/news/jwar/jwar060829_1_n.shtml
6. http://www.janes.co.uk/defence/news/jwar/jwar060829_1_n.shtml
7. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/tehran/inside/govt.html#snsc
8. (Baer, R, ''See No Evil'', 2002, Three Rivers Press, page 250)
9. The battle for Saudi hearts and minds
10. Saudis' role in Iraq insurgency outlined
11. British Intelligence Dossier on Iraq's WMD
12. Iraq WMD claims 'seriously flawed'
13. Weapons Given to Iraq Are Missing
14. Iraqis ‘lose’ thousands of US
15. Italian arms investigators see Iraqi ties
16. Pentagon probes if US arms for Iraq diverted to Turkey
17. Iranian Unit to Be Labeled 'Terrorist'
18. U.S. to Label Iran Revolutionary Guard ‘Terrorists’
19. US feels heat as Iranian leader visits Afghanistan
20. Leader: Iran, Iraq Must Work Together
21. Ahmadinejad Makes First Visit to Afghanistan
22. Iranian Unit to Be Labeled 'Terrorist'
23. Iran Still Evading UN Sanctions, Says Policy Expert
24. Iran Guards warn U.S. of heavier blows ahead: report
25. U.S. intellectuals prevent extremist views: Khatami
26. Iran Guards 'join US terror list'
27. Featured writer: Kaveh Afrasiabi
28. US steps closer to war with Iran
See also
★ Ali Movahedi-Kermani
★ Ali-Reza Asgari
External links
★ AP: U.S. envoy: Iran Revolutionary Guards Quds Force director detained
★ Iranian Military Pictures & videos
★ Foxes in Iran's Henhouse, a New York Times article about the role of the Revolutionary Guards in Iran's power structure
★ link to GlobalSecurity.org
★ AGIR navy, air forces to launch wargame in Persian Gulf, Oman Sea
Further reading
★ Inside the Danger Zone: The U.S. Military in the Persian Gulf 1987-88, Wise, Harold Lee, , , Naval Institute Press, 2007, ISBN 1-59114-970-3 (discusses U.S. military clashes with Iranian Revolutionary Guard during the Iran-Iraq War)
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