Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps
Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps
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<catset>Category="Military of Iran"</catset><table cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0 style="float:right; margin: 0 0 1em 1em; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;"><tr><td> <caption><big><big><b>Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps</b></caption> </td><td align=center colspan=2> <table border=0 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=0 style=" background:#f9f9f9; text-align:left;"><tr><td>[image]</td><td></td></tr><tr><th style=" background:#ccccff; font-size: 95%; border-top: 1px solid #aaaaaa; border-bottom: 1px solid #aaaaaa; padding: 0 5px 0 5px;"><b>Components</b></th></tr><tr><td>Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps</td></tr><tr><td>Ghods</td></tr><tr><td><a href="Basij">Basij</a></td></tr><tr><td>Structure of the Sepah</td></tr><tr><th style=" background:#ccccff; font-size: 95%; border-top: 1px solid #aaaaaa; border-bottom: 1px solid #aaaaaa; padding: 0 5px 0 5px;"><b>History</b></th></tr><tr><td>History of the Sepah</td></tr><tr><td>Timeline of the Sepah </td></tr><tr><th style=" background:#ccccff; font-size: 95%; border-top: 1px solid #aaaaaa; border-bottom: 1px solid #aaaaaa; padding: 0 5px 0 5px;"><b>Personnel</b></th></tr><tr><td>List of senior officers</td></tr><tr><td>Officer rank insignia</td></tr><tr><td>Warrant officer rank insignia</td></tr><tr><td>Enlisted rank insignia</td></tr></table></td></tr></table><p><b>Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps</b> (<a href="Persian language">Persian</a><b> <font face='Arial Unicode MS,Code2000'>&#1587;&#1662;&#1575;&#1607;</font> <font face='Arial Unicode MS,Code2000'>&#1662;&#1575;&#1587;&#1583;&#1575;&#1585;&#1575;&#1606;</font> <font face='Arial Unicode MS,Code2000'>&#1575;&#1606;&#1602;&#1604;&#1575;&#1576;</font> <font face='Arial Unicode MS,Code2000'>&#1575;&#1587;&#1604;&#1575;&#1605;&#1740;</font></b> - <i>Sepah Pasdaran Enghaleb Islam-e</i>), often shortened to <b>Revolutionary Guards</b>, or called by its <a href="Persian language">Persian</a> name <b>Sepah</b>, translated to English as <a href="Pasdaran">Pasdaran</a>, is a military organization of the <a href="Iran">Islamic Republic of Iran</a>. It was formed in May, <a href="1979">1979</a>, as a force loyal to <a href="Ruhollah Khomeini">Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini</a>, but later became a full military force along the army in the <a href="Iran-Iraq War">Iran-Iraq War</a>.<p>The present Chief Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps is General <a href="Rahim Safavi">Rahim Safavi</a> who was preceeded by <a href="Mohsen Rezaee">Mohsen Rezaee</a>. Iran's current hardline president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was a member of the Revolutionary Guard.<p><i>Sepah</i> is a Persian word meaning "Army,"  cp. <a href="Sepoy">Sepoy</a>.<p><p><center><p><table style="margin: 0 2em 0 2em;"><tr><th align=center width=100% style=" background:#ccccff"><div style="float:left; width:50px;">&nbsp;</div> <a href="Military of Iran">Military of Iran</a> </th><th>[image]</th></tr><tr><td align=center colspan=2>[image] <a href="Iranian Navy">Iranian Navy</a> | [image] <a href="Iranian Army">Iranian Army</a> | [image] <a href="Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force">Iranian Air Force</a>| [image] Sepah</td></tr></table><p></center><h2 style="margin: 0; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.17em; border-bottom: 1px solid #aaaaaa; font-size: 150%;">External links</h2><ul> <li> <font color=#700070> Foxes in Iran's Henhouse</font>, a <a href="The New York Times">New York Times</a> article about the role of the Revolutionary Guards in Iran's power structure <li> <font color=#700070> link to global security.org</font> </ul>