Walk through any Iranian city and you will see their presence. The men with beards and stern faces. The buildings with no signs but heavy security. The banks and companies with names nobody recognizes. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps runs Iran. They run the economy. They run the military. They run the repression.
The Guard started right after the 1979 revolution. The regular army seemed untrustworthy. They served the Shah too long. So Khomeini created a new force loyal only to him. They protected the revolution from internal enemies first. Then they expanded into everything.
Today the Guard controls the missile program that scares America. They built the thousands of rockets that can hit Israel and American bases. They developed the drones Iran uses across the region. They run the nuclear security that keeps inspectors guessing.
The Guard also runs huge chunks of the economy. Their engineering arm rebuilds infrastructure. Their companies win no-bid contracts for major projects. Their foundations control land and businesses seized after the revolution. When sanctions hit, the Guard got richer because they control smuggling networks.
The Quds Force operates as the Guard’s foreign legion. Soleimani ran this branch until America killed him. They train Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon. They arm Shia militias in Iraq. They supply the Houthis in Yemen. They keep Assad in power in Syria. The Quds Force extends Iranian power across the entire region without ever wearing Iranian uniforms.
America designated the Guard a terrorist organization in 2019. The first time one country labeled another country’s military as terrorists. Iran responded by labeling American forces in the region as terrorists too. The designation changed little but showed how far relations fell.
Inside Iran, the Guard faces growing criticism. Their economic power crowds out ordinary businesses. Their repression crushes protests. Their foreign adventures cost billions while ordinary Iranians struggle. But they hold the guns and the money. Nobody challenges them successfully.
