06.03.2007 - Source: US Department of State

Different groups serve as vigilantes and are involved in law enforcement and the maintaining of order ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2006") [ID 19533]

"Several agencies share responsibility for law enforcement and maintaining order, including the MOIS, the Law Enforcement Forces under the Interior Ministry, and the IRGC. A paramilitary volunteer force known as the Basij and various informal groups known as the Ansar-e Hizballah (Helpers of the Party of God) aligned with extreme conservative members of the leadership and acted as vigilantes. The size of the Basij is disputed, with officials citing anywhere from 11 to 20 million, and a 2005 Western study claiming there were 90,000 active members and up to 300,000 reservists."

Document(s): Open document

04.2005 - Source: UK Home Office

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps ("Country Report - April 2005") [#31980],  [ID 9525]

"[...]5.43 According to Global Security Org, "The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) or Pasdaran was formed following the Islamic Revolution of 1979 in an effort to consolidate several paramilitary forces into a single force loyal to the new regime and to function as a counter to the influence and power of the regular military. Although the IRGC operates independently of the regular armed forces, it is often considered to be a military force in its own right due to its important role in Iranian defense. The IRGC consists of ground, naval, and aviation troops which parallel the structure of the regular military. From the beginning of the new Islamic regime, the Pasdaran (Pasdaran-e Enghelab-e Islami, or Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or Revolutionary Guards) functioned as a corps of the faithful. Its role in national security evolved from securing the regime and eliminating opposition forces to becoming a branch of the military establishment". [80a] [...]"

Document(s): Open document

10.2002 - Source: UK Home Office

UK Home Office: The Revolutionary Guards are the principal arm of domestic security ("Country Assessment - October 2002") [#9556],  [ID 9526]

"4.37. The Sepah-e Pasdaran-e Enghelab-e Eslami (Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), was created by the revolutionary regime suspicious of the regular military. Its ground forces are said to number 100,000. It operates as the principal arm of domestic security, although it has to apply for a search warrant before it can raid a private home. In August 1994 some Pasdaran units refused to intervene in riots in the city of Ghazvin. A Pasdaran commander was among four senior army officers who are said to have sent a letter to the country's political leadership, warning the clerical rulers against “using the armed forces to crush civilian unrest and internal conflicts.” Nevertheless, the Pasdaran is reported to be continuing to disperse unauthorised gatherings by using violence.

4.38. In April 1998 the head of the Revolutionary Guards Corps made clear the fact that they would repress efforts to achieve reform by persons perceived to be “counter-revolutionaries”."

Document(s): Open document

05.08.2002 - Source: International Crisis Group

ICG: The Revolutionary Guards consist of about 120,000 armed men ("Iran: The Struggle for the Revolution´s Soul") [#8214],  [ID 9527]

"The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (sepah-e Pasdaran) was created in May 1979 by decree of Ayatollah Khomeini, primarily to protect the revolution and its achievements. The Revolutionary Guards initially were a versatile tool for Khomeini and his supporters in their struggle against former revolutionary allies, such as the Islamic–Marxist Mojahedin-e Khalq, which was also developing autonomous armed units. The Revolutionary Guards were an important counterweight to the regular military, which was still dominated by monarchists whose loyalty to the revolutionary regime was in doubt. The Revolutionary Guards have numerous special units, including their own Bureau of Security and Intelligence. According to some estimates, the Guards have dropped to some 120,000 armed men from more than 300,000 at the height of the Iraq War, divided into twelve to fifteen divisions deployed in eleven security zones across Iran.

The rivalry between the regular military and the Revolutionary Guards has remained constant since the revolution, and in 1985 – in the midst of the war – the latter developed their own naval and air combat forces in addition to ground troops. While the regular army, which was a primary pillar of the Shah’s regime, has some 300,000 men, it is not an independent force within the power structures. The clerical elite, long suspicious of its loyalty to the regime, subjected its leadership to intense Islamic indoctrination and monitoring by commissars and purged it repeatedly until the mid-1980s. In contrast, the Revolutionary Guards Corps has close links to well placed hard-liners and continues to consider itself a political army defending Ayatollah Khomeini’s revolution and his agenda – to export revolution to oppressed Muslims throughout the world by all means, including violence. In addition, it has dedicated itself to the logistical support and military training of diverse Shiite opposition groups from Iraq, Bahrain, Lebanon, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, many of which are based in Iran."

Document(s): Open document
00851irn.pdf

11.2001 - Source: Austrian Centre for Country of Origin and Asylum Research and Documentation

ACCORD: The Revolutionary Guards have 120,000 men in service and consist of young recruits dedicated to the Islamic revolution ("7th European Country of Origin Information Seminar Berlin, 11 - 12 June 2001: Final Report - Iran") [#7661],  [ID 9528]

"A second group are the Revolutionary Guards, or Sepah-e Pasdaran-e Enghelab-e Islami, which are very much feared by a lot of people. In the period immediately after the revolution of 1979 they were responsible for arresting supporters of the old regime and opponents of the new regime, while today they seem to be disappearing from urban centres. They were organized in the early days of the revolution to back and defend the revolution and to serve as a counter-influence to the regular armed forces. They have 120,000 men in service and consist of young recruits dedicated to the Islamic revolution. The Pasdaran have in the past repeatedly been deployed in crushing civilian unrest, but are now mainly engaged in fighting insurgency and what they term ”counterrevolutionary military activities”."

Document(s): cois2001-irn.pdf

08.1998 - Source:

: Federation of American Scientists (FAS): Qods (Jerusalem) Force, Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC - Pasdaran-e Inqilab) ("Federation of American Scientists (FAS): Qods Force, Revolutionary Guards") [ID 9529]

"While the Constitution of Iran entrusts the military with guarding Iran's territorial integrity and political independence, it gives the Revolutionary Guard [Pasdaran] the responsibility of guarding the Revolution itself. Established under a decree issued by Khomeini on May 5, 1979, the Pasdaran was intended to guard the Revolution and to assist the ruling clerics in the day-to-day enforcement of the government's Islamic codes and morality. The Revolution also needed to rely on a force of its own rather than borrowing the previous regime's tainted units.

By 1986 the Pasdaran consisted of 350,000 personnel organized in battalion-size units that operated either independently or with units of the regular armed forces. In 1986 the Pasdaran acquired small naval and air elements. By 1996 the ground and naval forces were reported to number 100,000 and 20,000, respectively.

Domestic Operations
The Pasdaran has maintained an intelligence branch to monitor the regime's domestic adversaries and to participate in their arrests and trials. Khomeini implied Pasdaran involvement in intelligence when he congratulated the Pasdaran on the arrest of Iranian communist Tudeh leaders. The Baseej (volunteers) come under the control of the Revolutionary Guards. In 1988, up to 900,000 baseej were mobilized. The Baseej allegedly also monitor the activities of citizens, and harass or arrest women whose clothing does not cover the hair and all of the body except hands and face, or those who wear makeup. During the year ending in June 1995, they reportedly "notified 907,246 people verbally and issued 370,079 written notices against ‘social corruption’ and arrested 86,190 people, and also broke up 542 ‘corrupt gangs’, arresting their 2,618 members, and seized 86,597 indecent videocassettes and photographs.


The Ashura Brigades force was reportedly created in 1993 after anti-government riots erupted in various Iranian cities and it consists of 17,000 Islamic militia men and women. The Ashura Brigades are reportedly composed of elements of the Revolutionary Guards (Pasdaran) and the Baseej volunteer militia
In August 1994, some Pasdaran units, rushed to quell riots in the city of Ghazvin, 150 km. west of Tehran, reportedly refused orders from the Interior Minister to intervene in the clashes, which left more than 30 people dead, 400 wounded and over 1,000 arrested. Subsequently, senior officers in the army, air force and the usually loyal Islamic Revolutionary Guard reportedly stated that they would no longer order their troops into battle to quell civil disorder. A Pasdaran commander was among four senior army officers who are said to have sent a letter to the country's political leadership, warning the clerical rulers against "using the armed forces to crush civilian unrest and internal conflicts." In a communiqué sent to Ayatollah Ali Khameini, stated that "the role of the country’s armed forces is to defend its borders and to repel foreign enemies from its soil, not to control the internal situation or to strengthen one political faction above another." They are said to have then recommended the use of Baseej volunteers for this purpose. In a move believed to indicate a shift in the trust of the ruling clerics from the Pasdaran to the Baseej volunteer force, on 17 April 1995 Ayatollah Ali Khameini reportedly promoted a civilian, veterinary surgeon Hassan Firuzabadi, to the rank of full general, placing him above both Brigadier-General Mohsen Rezai, commander-in-chief of the Pasdaran and Brigadier General Ali Shahbazi of the regular armed forces."

Document(s): Federation of American Scientists (FAS): Qods Force, Revolutionary Guards

08.12.1997 - Source:

Federation of American Scientists (FAS): Joint Committee for Special Operations ("Federation of American Scientists (FAS): Joint Committee for Special Operations") [ID 9530]

"The Joint Committee for Special Operations consists of Iran’s president, its top religious authority, and other senior security officials, including representatives of the Pasdaran [Guardians of the Revolution], the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Security and Intelligence. It is responsible for coordinating activities devoted to gathering intelligence and special weapons technology abroad, as well as activities within the Iranian exile community."

Document(s): Federation of American Scientists (FAS): Joint Committee for Special Operations

08.12.1997 - Source:

Federation of American Scientists (FAS): J2 Intelligence and Security ("Federation of American Scientists (FAS): J2 Intelligence and Security") [ID 9531]

"The Joint Staff of the armed forces, composed of officers assigned from the various services, the Pasdaran, the National Police, and the Gendarmerie, is responsible for all operational military matters. Its primary tasks included military planning and coordination and operational control over the regular services, combat units of the Pasdaran, and units of the Gendarmerie and National Police assigned to the war front. Joint Staff members are also empowered to integrate fully the regular and paramilitary forces in operational planning. The components of the armed forces Joint Staff were modeled on the United States joint and combined staff system.

Personnel of J2 Intelligence and Security carry out operational control for intelligence planning, intelligence operations, intelligence training, counterintelligence, and security for all elements of the armed forces. They also handle liaison with the komitehs (revolutionary committees) for internal security matters and with MOIS for foreign intelligence."

Document(s): Federation of American Scientists (FAS): J2 Intelligence and Security