The Iranian Revolutionary Guards

Since the Iranian Revolution more than thirty years ago, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), also known as the Revolutionary Guard, has conducted covert and overt military operations, built an economic empire, and trained, financed, and guided terrorists to pursue one goalùthe preservation and expansion of the Islamic revolution. Inside Iran the IRGC influences the country's politics, economy, and foreign policy, and controls its nuclear program. Outside Iran the operations of the IRGC and its proxies, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and Shiite militias in Iraq, have left a trail of deathùfrom the 1983 truck bombings in Beirut that killed 241 U.S. peacekeepers and 58 French paratroopers to numerous attacks on U.S. (and allied) troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now, no longer content to strike in Iraq and Afghanistan or at targets in the Middle East and south Asia, the IRGC and Hezbollah operate throughout North and South America, developing the capability to strike the continental United States and deliver a blow to America's economy far worse than today's financial crisis. In Iran's Revolutionary Guard, Steven O'Hern reveals new information about the IRGC and Hezbollah operations inside America based on interviews with former and active members of the FBI, CIA, local law enforcement, military intelligence, and even one former Revolutionary Guard officer. The author details how the IRGC has grown into such a dangerous foe and explains how its members' activities have put the American economy and American lives at risk. His research suggests that the IRGC may be planning to explode, high above a Midwestern city, a nuclear weapon that would emit an electromagnetic pulse strong enough to render anything with a computer chip useless, including the hundreds of transformers that control the country's electrical grid. One thing is certain, according to O'Hern: the Revolutionary Guard is a serious threat to the well-being of all U.S. citizens.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has been dubbed the ‘kingmaker’ in recent studies of Iranian politics, precipitating heated debates surrounding the potential militarization of the Iranian regime and giving rise to paradoxical understandings of the IRGC; whether as a military institution entering politics, or a political institution with a military history. Revolutionary Guards in Iranian Politics offers a way out of this paradox by showing that the IRGC is not a recently politicized institution, but has instead been highly politicized since its inception. It identifies the ways in which the IRGC relates to national political dynamics, examines the factors contributing to this relationship, and its implications on Iranian politics from the revolution up to the present day. The book examines the three decades following the revolution, uncovering the reasons behind the rise of the Revolutionary Guards and tracking the organization’s evolving relationship with politics. Establishing a theoretical framework from revolution and civil-military relations theories, this book provides new perspectives on the relationship between the IRGC and Iranian politics. This book would be of interest to students and scholars of Middle East Studies and Iranian Studies, in particular Iranian Politics.

Argues that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard poses a danger to the economy and well-being of the United States, citing its previous operations in the Middle East and Asia.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, also known as the 'Sepah', has wielded considerable and increasing power in Iran in recent decades. Established in 1979 by Ayatollah Khomeini as a paramilitary organisation charged with protecting the nascent Islamic regime and countering the untrustworthy Imperial army (or 'Artesh'), the Sepah has evolved into one of the most powerful political, ideological, military and economic players in Iran over recent years. The Sepah is entrusted with a diverse set of indoctrination apparatus, training programmes and system welfare provisions intended to broaden support for the regime. Although established as a paramilitary organisation, the Sepah developed to have its own ministry, complex bureaucracy and diversified functions, alongside its own network and personnel. This book provides a comprehensive overview of the Sepah and its role. It examines the position of the Sepah in Iranian state and society, explores the nature of the Sepah's involvement in politics, and discusses the impact of the Sepah's political rise on Iran's economy and foreign policy. Contemporary Iran can only be fully understood by an awareness of the ongoing in-fighting among regime factions and increasing popular demands for social change – knowing about the Sepah is central to all this.

Iran is a country at war – in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen. The founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Khomeini, always told audiences that the revolution was not about Iran, but the whole region. To establish an arc of Shia influence across the Middle East, the Islamic Republic created the Quds Force, the extraterritorial branch of its Revolutionary Guards. Hundreds of thousands of Shia youths were recruited, trained, armed, and organized in militia groups across the region. The book tells the story of how the Quds Force and its Shia militias fought on the three fronts to advance the Islamic Republic’s militant interpretation of Shia Islam and create a contiguous land corridor linking Iran through Iraq to Syria, Lebanon, and the Israeli northern fronts. The Iran-led operations are creating enormous political and security challenges for the Sunni Arabs and all regional powers, creating further instabilities in an already turbulent Middle East, with specters of direct military conflicts looming, pitting Iran against the Arab states and Israel.

*Includes pictures *Includes online resources and a bibliography In early November 2016, Salar Abnoush, a leader in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), stated that the IRGC "will be in the U.S. and Europe very soon." This quote came just before the U.S. presidential election, a time when President Barack Obama was winding down his presidency and American society was busy reflecting on his past actions over the 8 years of his presidency. Of those actions that incoming President Donald Trump has decided to focus on, "tearing up" the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (also more commonly known as the Iran Nuclear Deal) was near the top of the list. The crux of the deal focuses on Iran's agreement to rolling back uranium stockpiles and enrichment capabilities in exchange for the ending of nuclear-related sanctions against Iran. Due to the IRGC's current involvement in the Iranian economy, they stand to gain from the ending of the sanctions. Possible threats to the deal by the incoming Trump Administration are of concern in Iran, and the threat of the IRGC spreading in Western countries is a concern as well. The impact of the changing of terms to the Iran Nuclear Deal is just one concern among many of members of the IRGC. The multi-party conflict of the Syrian Civil War has pulled Iran deeper into this global conflict, as the number of refugees and internally displaced people rise. Through it all, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps has held a position of power and prestige in Iranian society and has inspired both revolution and concern around the world. The IRGC is notable for its involvement in conflicts around the Middle East, particularly in supporting Shi'a groups through military training and finance, as well as backup support on the battlefield. This is not to say the IRGC enters into conflicts for the sake of being involved, but rather, they see these particular situations as serving the interests of Iran and furthering their brand of Shi'ism, a sect of Islam. The IRGC sees itself as a protector of Islam, Iran's theocracy, and the principles of the 1979 Iranian Revolution, so its involvement is always framed in terms of benefits to the overall goals of promoting revolutionary ideals. As analyst Afshon Ostovar puts it, "The IRGC is a multifaceted organization with reach into many different areas. It is a security service, an intelligence operation, a social and cultural force, and a complex industrial economic conglomerate." The IRGC operates in a very similar manner to other Islamist paramilitary organizations, such as Hezbollah, Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood, and--their current enemies on the battlefield--the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and Jabhat Al-Nusra. These Islamist groups' power and influence comes from their control over the societies in which they operate and whether or not they have influential allies. The main difference for the IRGC, however, is the support of Iranian leadership in carrying out their main mission of maintaining and exporting the revolution. In essence, the IRGC has rooted itself in Iranian society and spread its influence through association with the society's most integral components--the education system, businesses, civil organizations, and religion--all at the request and blessing of the Supreme Leader of Iran. This is a similar model ISIL and Jabhat Al-Nusra are attempting to carry out in Syria and Iraq, and the one that Hamas and Hezbollah currently carry out in Lebanon and the Palestinian territories. The IRGC is also very much involved in Iran's economy and has a stake in its nuclear ambitions.

This book shows that the revolutionary guard has resisted professionalization on the key aspect of war decision making. It explains how the Guard was able to resist ideological dilution despite its need to adopt a rationalized and complex organizational structure.

"Iran's Revolutionary Guards are one of the most important forces in the Middle East today, but remain poorly understood to outside observers. In Vanguard of the Imam, Afshon Ostovar has written the first comprehensive history of the organization. Situating the rise of the Guards in the contexts of Shiite Islam, Iranian history, and international affairs, Ostovar takes a multifaceted approach in demystifying the organization and detailing its evolution since 1979. The book documents the Guards transformation into a power-player and explores why the group matters now more than ever to regional and global affairs. It is simultaneously a history of modern Iran, and an engrossing entryway into the complex world of war, politics, and identity in the Middle East"--