The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is a multi-service primary branch of the Iranian Armed Forces, officially established by Ruhollah Khomeini as a military branch in May 1979, in the aftermath of the Iranian Revolution. The IRGC is intended to complement the more traditional role of the regular Iranian military, with the two forces operating separately and focusing on different operational roles. The IRGC is a combined arms force with its own ground forces, navy, air force, intelligence, and special forces. It also controls the Basij militia, a volunteer-based force, with 90,000 regular soldiers and 300,000 reservists.

The IRGC has taken a greater role in nearly every aspect of Iranian politics and society, and in 2019, Reuters described the organization as "an industrial empire with political clout". The IRGC has become one of the most powerful paramilitary organizations in the Middle East, charged with defending the Islamic Republic against internal and external threats. It has gained an outsize role in executing Iran’s foreign policy and wields control over vast segments of the economy.

The IRGC has ties to armed groups in the region, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, and helps Iran compensate for its relatively weak conventional military forces. The IRGC-QF is one of the Iranian regime’s primary organizations responsible for conducting covert lethal activities outside of Iran, including asymmetric and terrorist operations. The IRGC has become the most powerful controller of all important economic sectors across Iran.

The IRGC is separate from Irans conventional military force and is officially recognized as a component of the Iranian military under Article 150 of the Iranian Constitution. The US government standard is Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, while the United Nations uses Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. The IRGC is the only foreign state entity on the roster of 67 other militant factions on the U.S. State Department’s list of foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs) .

In summary, the IRGC is a powerful paramilitary organization in Iran charged with defending the Islamic Republic against internal and external threats. It has taken a greater role in nearly every aspect of Iranian politics and society and wields control over vast segments of the economy. The IRGC has ties to armed groups in the region and is responsible for conducting covert lethal activities outside of Iran.