Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is a powerful paramilitary force within the country’s theocratic system. Answering directly to the Supreme Leader, it controls Iran’s ballistic missile forces and conducts operations beyond Iran’s borders.
The Guard has drawn renewed attention as Iran expands attacks across the Middle East following a U.S.-Israeli air campaign that killed top Guard generals.
Born out of a revolution
The IRGC was formed after the 1979 Islamic Revolution to defend the clerical-led government and was later enshrined in Iran’s constitution. It developed alongside the regular military and grew in influence during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s. After that conflict, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei empowered the corps to enter private enterprise, enabling further expansion.
The Guard now oversees vast economic interests, including the giant construction conglomerate Khatam al-Anbia, and companies involved in road and port construction, telecommunications and even medical services such as laser eye surgery.
Foreign operations are central
The IRGC’s expeditionary Quds Force has been instrumental in building what Iran calls an “Axis of Resistance” against Israel and the United States. It supported Bashar al-Assad in Syria, backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, aided Houthi rebels in Yemen and helped allied groups in Iraq after the 2003 U.S. invasion.
U.S. officials say the IRGC taught Iraqi militants to produce and deploy deadly roadside bombs against American troops. The Quds Force and Iranian intelligence services have been accused of hiring criminal networks and agents to target dissidents and opponents overseas. Western governments have also blamed Iran for directing or encouraging surveillance and sabotage plots in other countries; Iran denies involvement.
The Guard runs its own intelligence apparatus and has overseen arrests and convictions of dual nationals and people with Western ties, often in secretive trials. Western governments say Tehran uses these detainees as bargaining chips in negotiations, including over its nuclear program.
New strains from the war with Israel
The IRGC’s regional network has faced major tests since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel and the subsequent Gaza war. Hamas is one of the groups Iran has supported. Israel’s campaign has not only targeted Hamas in Gaza but also struck Iranian-backed forces, inflicting heavy damage on Hezbollah and repeatedly hitting Houthi positions in Yemen.
The fall of Assad’s government in Syria in December 2024 removed a key regional ally for Tehran and the IRGC. Israel and Iran have exchanged missile strikes, operations managed in part by the Guard. In June, an intense Israeli air offensive struck IRGC targets, killing senior commanders and damaging missile sites, launchers and Guard-operated air defenses, disrupting its command and capabilities.
Crackdowns at home
Domestically, the IRGC relies on the Basij, its volunteer militia, to suppress dissent. Since protests began on Dec. 28, Basij units have been filmed using long guns, batons and pellet guns against demonstrators, pursuing and beating protesters in the streets. Senior Basij figures have publicly urged members to mobilize to quash unrest. In January, the European Union designated the IRGC as a terrorist organization, citing its role in the violent crackdown.
Who controls the Guard?
Iran’s foreign minister has suggested that some military elements are operating with a degree of independence from civilian authorities after questions about attacks on Gulf Arab states that previously acted as intermediaries for Tehran. There have been strikes on Oman and Qatar—countries that have engaged with Iran diplomatically—raising concerns.
Abbas Araghchi told Al Jazeera on March 1 that some military units are “independent” and acting on broad prior instructions, a statement observers say could reflect contingency planning or serve as a diplomatic signal to ease tensions with Gulf neighbors angered by recurrent strikes.
The IRGC remains unique in Tehran’s power structure because it controls much of Iran’s ballistic missile stockpile and its complement of weaponized drones, giving it significant autonomy and leverage within the state.
