The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps terrorizes its own people and casts a dark shadow over the world.
IRGC tank in 2012 military parade in Tehran (Source: WikiCommons).
This article written by Ambassador R. James Woolsey and Dr. Peter Vincent Pry was originally published by the Washington Times on July 16, 2017. A portion has been re-published with the permission of the Washington Times, and the article in its entirety can be found on their website.
ISIS has captivated Western attention for so long with its gruesome beheadings, stabbings, vehicular homicides, shootings and bombings in Europe and the United States, the horrific aftermaths deservedly the focus of television news, that virtually forgotten is the world’s biggest terror threat — Iran’s IRGC, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The IRGC, often misidentified in Western press as the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps dwarfs ISIS by any measure.
ISIS never had more than about 30,000 fighters, equipped mostly with small arms, with very little access to high-tech weaponry.
The IRGC Army has 100,000 troops in 20 infantry divisions. The IRGC Navy has 20,000 sailors, including 5,000 Marines. IRGC Special Forces, called the “Quds” (“Jersusalem”) Force numbers 5,000.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps also has reservists called the Basij Militia, paramilitary volunteers numbering 90,000 normally — but potentially capable of mobilizing an estimated 300,000 to 1 million fighters.
The IRGC is not to be confused with Iran’s regular armed forces, called the Artesh. Iran’s regular army, like normal armies everywhere, is responsible for defending Iran’s territorial integrity and political independence.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps is the instrument by which Iran is the world’s leading sponsor of international terrorism — including against its own people.
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