Revolutionary Guards far more powerful than 40 years ago – But as they are involved in cracking down on today’s protests, many Iranians are distancing themselves
Three years have passed since the day Revolutionary Guards General Qassem Soleimani was killed in neighboring Iraq by a US Air Force drone strike. It was January 3, 2020. In the Iranian capital Tehran a fresh portrait of Soleimani is painted on a huge banner next to the country’s historic resistance fighters. He is honored as a hero and martyr by the supporters of the regime. But this year everything is different, although commemorative events are being prepared for tomorrow’s anniversary.
Custodians of the revolution and emerging economic power
The Revolutionary Guard Corps is the elite of the Iranian Armed Forces. It was established by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini after the Islamic Revolution of 1979 to prevent a coup and protect state ideology. The IRGC has hundreds of thousands of guards in its service, including the notorious Basij militia, which has recently been involved in the brutal crackdown on protests. The supreme commander is Iran’s religious leader Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on all major decisions.
In recent decades, however, the Revolutionary Guards have not only been upgraded militarily. They have also increased their social and economic influence. Today the Revolutionary Guards are considered an economic powerhouse, with stakes in hotel chains, mobile phone companies and airlines, among others. At the same time they control parts of Iran’s economy hit by international sanctions.
From Tehran to Beirut: Iran’s ‘Axis of Resistance’
It was no coincidence that General Soleimani was killed in neighboring Iraq. As commander of the al-Quds Brigades, the Revolutionary Guards’ overseas unit, the veteran has increased Tehran’s influence in the region since the 1990s. To many Shiites in the region Soleimani is “a cross between James Bond, Erwin Rommel and Lady Gaga,” former CIA agent Kenney M. Pollack wrote years ago in the Times magazine.
Whether in Iraq, Syria or Lebanon: Tehran supports its political allies with the support of Shiite militias. With these, the Islamic Republic also equips itself against the eternal enemy Israel. After Soleimani’s death in 2020, the nation, not just the regime’s followers, mourned. But public outrage over the airstrike ordered by former US President Donald Trump has died down today. Many Iranians now blame the Revolutionary Guards themselves for the social problems. Guard officers are aware of the criticism. But the military leadership remains undeterred. “We know about the problems with the dollar exchange rate and the prices in the supermarkets,” says a source in Tehran. From the point of view of the Revolutionary Guards, however, this is the price for independence from the great powers, and especially from the USA.
Politicians in the West are calling for it to be designated a terrorist organization
The violent crackdown on the protests has widened the social divide, something Iranians of different classes complain about. Given the numerous human rights violations since the protests broke out in mid-September, the EU imposed sanctions on high-ranking officers of the Revolutionary Guards. But this is not enough for some politicians and activists: again and again they demand that the Guards be classified as a terrorist organization. The US had already taken the step under Donald Trump in 2019.
And while Soleimani is characterized in regime marches as a “leader of the resistance”, opponents of the system show with their actions that they reject the Revolutionary Guards. Posters and portraits of the general put up in the streets to mark the anniversary of his death have repeatedly in recent weeks been covered in red paint and a message by protesters: “You have blood on your hands.”
DW – Efthymis Angeloudis
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With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
