Iran: USA måste upphöra med sina ”aggressionshandlingar”

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), also known domestically as Sepah or Pasdaran and internationally as Iranian Revolutionary Guards, is a multi-service primary force of the Iranian Armed Forces. It consists of five service branches: Ground Forces, Aerospace Force, Navy, Quds Force, and Basij. It is led by a commander-in-chief, who is appointed by and reports to the Supreme Leader of Iran. The IRGC was officially established by Ruhollah Khomeini as a military branch in May 1979 in the aftermath of the Iranian Revolution. Whereas the Iranian Army (the Artesh) protects the country's sovereignty in a traditional capacity, the IRGC's constitutional mandate is to ensure the integrity of the Islamic Republic. Most interpretations of this mandate assert that it entrusts the IRGC with preventing foreign interference in Iran, thwarting coups by the traditional military, and crushing "deviant movements" that harm the ideological legacy of the Islamic Revolution. The IRGC has approximately 125,000 personnel, as of 2024. The main body is the IRGC Ground Forces, which focus on maintaining internal order, but have recently moved towards expeditionary warfare also, projecting power for the Islamic Republic. The IRGC Navy is now Iran's primary force exercising operational control over the Persian Gulf, serving as a de facto coast guard. The IRGC Aerospace Force is responsible for the Iranian ballistic missile program and act as the country's space force. The Basij, a paramilitary volunteer militia that serves as the IRGC's auxiliaries, has a further approximately 90,000 active personnel. Lastly, the Quds Force is a unit specialized in unconventional warfare, military intelligence and clandestine operations, responsible for arming, training, advising and, in some cases, commanding pro-Iranian non-state actors abroad—such as Hezbollah and the Houthis. It operates a media arm, known as "Sepah News" within Iran. Currently, the IRGC is designated as a terrorist organization by Albania, Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, the European Union, Honduras, Iceland, Israel, Liechtenstein, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Paraguay, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Sweden, Trinidad and Tobago, Ukraine, and the United States. Originating as a radical ideological militia, the IRGC has taken on a growing role in nearly every aspect of Iranian politics, economics (including energy and food industries) and society. In 2010, BBC News described the organization as a "business empire". In 2019, Reuters described it as "an industrial empire with political clout". IRGC's expanded social, political, military, and economic role under Mahmoud Ahmadinejad—especially during the 2009 presidential election and the suppression of post-election protests—has led many Western analysts to argue that it has surpassed even the country's ruling clerical class in terms of political power. In 2026, Reuters described the IRGC as a "state-within-a-state".