IRGC may refer to:
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, also known as the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, is a multi-service primary branch of the Iranian Armed Forces. It was officially established by Ruhollah Khomeini as a military branch in May 1979, in the aftermath of the Iranian Revolution. Whereas the Iranian Army 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. Currently, the IRGC is designated as a terrorist organization by Bahrain, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Sweden and the United States.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf is an Iranian conservative politician, former military officer, and current Speaker of the Parliament of Iran since 2020. He held office as the Mayor of Tehran from 2005 to 2017. Ghalibaf was formerly Iran's Chief of police from 2000 to 2005 and commander of the Revolutionary Guards' Air Force from 1997 to 2000.
The Quds Force is one of five branches of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) specializing in unconventional warfare and military intelligence operations. U.S. Army's Iraq War General Stanley McChrystal describes the Quds Force as an organization analogous to a combination of the CIA and the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) in the United States. Responsible for extraterritorial operations, the Quds Force supports non-state actors in many countries, including Hezbollah, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Houthi movement, and Shia militias in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan. According to Michael Wigginton et al., the Al-Quds Force is "a classic example of state-sponsored terrorism."
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy is the naval warfare service of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps founded in 1985, and one of the two maritime forces of Iran, parallel to the conventional Islamic Republic of Iran Navy. The IRGC has been designated as a terrorist organization by the governments of Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United States. IRGC's Navy has steadily improved its capabilities to support unconventional warfare and defend Iran's offshore facilities, coastlines, and islands in the Persian Gulf.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Ground Forces, acronymed NEZSA, are the ground forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The IRGC Ground Forces are more geared towards internal disorder than the regular Iranian Army. However, in recent years, the IRGC Ground Forces and by extension the entire IRGC, have transitioned to becoming an expeditionary force, capable of projecting power abroad, through conventional military operations or via proxies and unconventional warfare. There are at least around 150,000 IRGC Ground Force troops.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force, officially known as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Air and Space Force, is the strategic missile, air, and space force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). It was renamed from the IRGC Air Force to the IRGC Aerospace Force in 2009.
Since the establishment of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps the organization has been involved in economic and military activities, some of them controversial.
Khatam al-Anbiya Construction Headquarter is an Iranian engineering firm controlled by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The firm, also known as GHORB, is the IRGC's major engineering arm and one of Iran's largest contractors in industrial and development projects. Khatam al-Anbiya was created during the 1980–88 Iran–Iraq War to help rebuild the country, and has diversified over the years into companies dealing with mechanical engineering, energy, mining and defense.
Interferon-inducible GTPase 5 also known as immunity-related GTPase cinema 1 (IRGC1) is an enzyme that in humans is coded by the IRGC gene. It is predicted to behave like other proteins in the p47-GTPase-like and IRG families. It is most expressed in the testis.
Raad or Ra'd is an Iranian modern aerial defence system deployed in September 2012.The system is designed to enhance Iran's capabilities in terms of defense, and as a partner to Bavar 373 air defense system. According to Fars news agency, the Raad is designed to confront fighter jets, cruise missiles, smart bombs, helicopters and drones. The system is also designed specially for US fighters. The system is equipped with "Taer" (Bird) missiles, which can trace and hit targets in ranges up to 105 km and at altitudes from 25 to 27 km, Ra'd is a mid-range radar system and air defense system.
The Islamic Republic of Iran and the Syrian Arab Republic are close strategic allies, and Iran has provided significant support for the Syrian government in the Syrian civil war, including logistical, technical and financial support, as well as training and some combat troops. Iran sees the survival of the Syrian government as being crucial to its regional interests. When the uprising developed into the Syrian Civil War, there were increasing reports of Iranian military support, and of Iranian training of the National Defence Forces both in Syria and Iran. From late 2011 and early 2012, Iran's IRGC began sending tens of thousands of Iranian troops and foreign paramilitary volunteers in coordination with the Syrian government to prevent the collapse of the Syrian Arab Army; thereby polarising the conflict along sectarian lines.
Tasnim News Agency is a semi-official news agency in Iran associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Launched in 2012, its purpose is to cover a variety of political, social, economic and international subjects along with many other fields.
The Sistan and Baluchestan insurgency is an ongoing low-intensity asymmetric conflict in Sistan and Baluchestan Province between Iran and several Baloch Sunni militant organizations designated as terrorist organizations by the Iranian government. It began in 2004 and is part of the wider Balochistan conflict.
The Intelligence Protection Organization of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is an Iranian intelligence agency within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and part of Council for Intelligence Coordination.
Hossein Salami is an Iranian military officer who is the commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Born in Golpayegan, he joined the IRGC during the Iran–Iraq War, when he was a college student. He rose through the ranks, becoming deputy commander. On 21 April 2019, the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, appointed him as the new Commander-in-Chief of the IRGC, replacing major general Mohammad Ali Jafari.
2016–present clashes in West Iran refers to the ongoing military clashes between Kurdish insurgent party Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, which began in April 2016. Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK) and Komalah expressed their support to the Kurdish cause of PDKI as well, with both clashing with Iranian security forces in 2016 and 2017 respectively. In parallel, a leftist Iranian Kurdish rebel group PJAK resumed military activities against Iran in 2016, following a long period of stalemate.
On 18 June 2017, under Operation Laylat al-Qadr, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) fired six surface-to-surface mid-range ballistic missile from domestic bases targeting ISIL forces in the Syrian Deir ez-Zor Governorate in response to the terrorist attacks in Tehran earlier that month. Next day, the IRGC published aerial videos recorded by the Damascus-based IRGC drones flying over the city during the operation, confirming that the missiles had successfully hit the targets with precision.
Hormuz-2 (missile) is an Iranian naval (strike) ballistic missile which is able to hit floating-targets at sea with high accuracy. The range of this Iranian missile is approximately 300 km. It was revealed in a defense exhibition on 11 May 2014 and is believed to be an Anti-radiation derivative of Fateh-110 tactical ballistic missile having Terminal guidance instead of Electro-Optical guidance.
The several branches of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran are represented by flags. Within the Iranian military, various flags fly on various occasions, and on various ships, bases, camps, and military academies.