Iranian Imperial Guard

The Iranian Imperial Guard was both the personal guard force of the Shahs of Iran and an elite combat branch of the Imperial Iranian Army. It was created in 1942 and disbanded in 1979.

In 1921 a Persian Royal Guard was in existence comprising 20,000 men. A Guard Division was raised in 1925, incorporating both cavalry and infantry units.

The Imperial Guard was subsequently formed in 1942 from 700 volunteers. It was originally designed and organized by General Jafar Shafaghat. The division was modeled after the Republican Guard of France and the British Royal Horse Guards.

In 1953 the unit was expanded in size to a division under General Teymur Bakhtiar. In 1972 the Lashkari Guard Division was incorporated in the Imperial Guard together with a Conscript Brigade.

The core of the Imperial Guard was the all volunteer Javidan Guard (Gârd e Jâvidân, Persian: Immortal Guard), better known as the "Immortals" after the ancient Persian royal guard or Persian Immortals. The "Immortals" were based in the Lavizan Barracks in northern Tehran. By 1978 this elite force comprised a brigade of 4,000-5,000 men, including a battalion of Chieftain tanks. It was responsible for the internal and external security of the royal palaces. A special plain-clothes unit was called Ma'mourin Makhsous.

Prior to the 1967 Imperial Coronation a Pahlavi Cavalry Guard was formed, giving the Javidan Guard a Household Cavalry type mounted escort unit for ceremonial occasions. According to differing accounts this detachment was 30 to 50-strong.

The last Commanding Officer of the Javidan Guard was Lieutenant-Colonel Yusuf-i-nijad.

By the late 1970s the entire Imperial Guard (including conscripts outside the Javidan units) was 18,000 strong, with artillery, armored and helicopter units. The entire Guard comprised some 6% of the army, and were the only troops stationed permanently in the capital Tehran.

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