Iranian Revolutionary Guards
| Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution سپاه پاسداران انقلاب اسلامی (Persian) |
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|---|---|
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| Active | 1979–present |
| Country | Iran |
| Branch | |
| Size | ≈120,000–125,000 |
| Garrison/HQ | Tehran |
| Motto(s) | "Prepare against them what force you can." (وَأَعِدُّوا لَهُمْ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُمْ مِنْ قُوَّةٍ) [Quran 8:60] |
| Engagements | |
| Commanders | |
| Commander-in-Chief | Sayyid Ali Hosseini Khamenei |
| Chief Commander | Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari |
| Quds Force | Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani |
| Chief of the Joint Staff | Brig. Gen. Mohammad Hejazi |
| IRGC Ground Forces | Brig. Gen. Mohammad Pakpour |
| IRGC Aerospace Force | Brig. Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh |
| IRGC Navy | Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi |
| Mobilization forces | Brig. Gen. Gholamhossein Gheybparvar |
| Insignia | |
| Flag |  |
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) —Persian: سپاه پاسداران انقلاب اسلامی, transl. Sepāh-e Pāsdārān-e Enqelāb-e Eslāmi, lit. Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution or Sepāh for short)— is a branch of Iran's Armed Forces founded after the Iranian Revolution on 5 May 1979. Whereas the regular military (or Artesh) was constitutionally mandated to defend Iran's borders and maintain internal order, the IRGC was mandated to protect the country's Islamic nature. The Revolutionary Guards state that their role in protecting the Islamic system is preventing foreign interference as well as coups by the military or "deviant movements".
The Revolutionary Guards have roughly 125,000 military personnel including ground, aerospace and naval forces. Its naval forces are now the primary forces tasked with operational control of the Persian Gulf. It also controls the paramilitary Basij militia which has about 90,000 active personnel. Its media arm is Sepah News.
Since its origin as an ideologically driven militia, the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution has taken an ever more assertive role in virtually every aspect of Iranian society. Its expanded social, political, military, and economic role under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's administration—especially during the 2009 presidential election and post-election suppression of protest—has led many analysts to argue that its political power has surpassed even that of the Shia clerical system.
The Chief Commander of the Guardians is Mohammad Ali Jafari, who was preceded by Yahya Rahim Safavi.
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Wikipedia