The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was formed to protect the regime from internal divisions and balance the forces of the former royalist armed forces. Photo: Morteza Nikubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images
When news of Iranian strikes on Israel reached the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) base in the southeastern city of Zahedan, soldiers poured into the streets to celebrate.
< p>As he witnessed his strike, the euphoria of his comrades, 24-year-old Abdul Naseri (a pseudonym was used to protect his identity) was overcome by other emotions.
“They chanted “leader, we are ready, we are ready,” and the commander even brought sweets with the words “with the hope of liberating Palestine,” handing them out to us,” he said on the phone from his checkpoint.
“I’m scared now. The commander told us that we must be ready. I don't want to fight with any country. All I want is to live and have a safe life,” he said.
His fears are not unfounded.
If Israel decides to respond to Iran's April 14 missile attack with strikes on targets inside Iran, IRGC installations and the troops serving on them will likely be at the top of the target list.
And low-ranking IRGC members have no doubt about that war is real.
The movement of heavy weapons, including missiles and tanks, was also seen in the western part of the capital Tehran. Monday evening after reports of an imminent Israeli retaliatory strike.
People gather in Tehran in support of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. attack on Israel on April 14 Photo: Majid Saidi/Getty Images 
A billboard showing Iranian ballistic missiles in service with the text in Arabic «[Man's] Honest Promise» and in Persian «Israel Weaker than the Web», in Valiasr Square in central Tehran. Photo: ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images
Ahmad Rezaei (also a pseudonym), another conscript from southern Bushehr, said he received a call from his base that same day asking him to return to duty, even though he received two weeks of leave to care for his sick mother.
“He did not explain why I needed to end my leave early. I still have five days left and my mother is very sick,” he told The Telegraph.
“We all know what the IRGC is doing in the region, and if anyone dares to respond, we should just accept it and try.” so that our guys in the region will respond,» he added.
«We fought for many years in Syria and Iraq against ISIS, so we are not fighting against them in Tehran and Isfahan. I don't know what's going on in the heads of the commanders, they are now bringing us war in vain,” he added.
The less than enthusiastic feelings among the rank and file reflect the complex reality of life for Iran’s most notorious military force.
Founded after the Islamic Revolution of 1979 to protect the new regime. As a result of internal divisions and the balance of power of the former royalist armed forces, the IRGC, also known as Sepah, is often portrayed as a single entity.
But over the decades it has become a bloated, multi-departmental bureaucracy, exerting enormous influence on the Iranian army, economy and , increasingly, on society as a whole.
“It’s like a political party and a militia at the same time,” explained Arash Azizi, a historian at Clemson University and author of a book about Qassem Soleimani, the IRGC general killed in a US drone strike in 2020.
“It’s a sprawling organization that has [Supreme Leader Ali] Khamenei at its head, but its very different factions have very different goals and pursue very different goals.»
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei addresses commanders and members of the IRGC. Photo: Reuters 
Its veterans occupy prominent political positions (the most famous of them is Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the current speaker of parliament and former commander of the IRGC air force ), and he is primarily responsible for foreign policy in the Middle East.
It is noteworthy that after the April 14 terrorist attack, the Swiss charge d'affaires, representing the United States in Tehran, was summoned not to the Foreign Ministry, but to the headquarters of the IRGC.
At the bottom of the organization, people like Mr. Rezaei and Mr. Naseri.
All Iranian men who have reached the age of 18 are required to complete 21 months of compulsory military service in either the Iranian army or the IRGC.
Generally, the appointment of military personnel determined by the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces.
In practice, however, many young people find ways to join the IRGC because it has a reputation for better pay and conditions than the official Iranian military, said Holly Dagres, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. and curator of The Iranist, a weekly newsletter covering current events in Iran.
This is one reason why the UK is resisting demands from Israel and many Iranian dissidents to list the IRGC as a terrorist organization: it risks criminalizing large numbers of people whose loyalty to the regime might otherwise be called into question at some point.< /p> < img src="/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/becf3fe4fd209e534d286fecf0e28921.jpg" /> Islamic revolution of 1979. Photo: Moment Editorial 
Demonstrators led by clerics in Tehran during the Iranian Revolution. Photo: Kaveh Kazemi/Getty Images
Militarily, the IRGC is believed to have about 190,000 troops, not counting the Basij, a volunteer paramilitary force affiliated with the corps.
Ground forces dedicated primarily to internal security and staffed primarily by conscripts such as like Mr. Naseri, make up about 150,000 of the total.
Aerospace, Navy and Marine Corps account for most of the remainder. But it is the fifth unit, the Overseas Quds Force, that is attracting the most attention abroad.
According to the annual Military Balance report published by think tank IISS for 2023, the Quds Force numbers just 5,000. They are responsible for coordinating the «axis of resistance» made up of proxy and allied militant groups, including Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza and the Houthis in Yemen.
She orchestrated Iran's intervention in the Syrian civil war, supports powerful militias in Iraq and is accused of running assassination programs abroad targeting regime opponents.
In short, it is Israel's main antagonist in the regional shadow war.
When Mr. Rezaei, a conscript, says that «our guys in the region» must respond to the attack in Damascus, he is referring to the Quds Force But the despondency is not universal. Jawad, a member of the Basij, told The Telegraph he was irritated by the government's apparent hesitation before the strike.
“We should have responded immediately and without hesitation. However, I am satisfied that it happened and it was a lesson for the Zionists,” he said by phone.
“We were at a friend's house watching a movie when it happened. Without hesitation, we hurried outside and headed towards our base, where even more friends had gathered. We sat on motorcycles all night and waved the flag until the morning,” he recalls.
IRGC members during military exercises Photo : Reuters
“If they dare to take even one step in response to our actions, I would agree to nothing less than the complete eradication of the invaders from the face of the earth,” he added.
But Iranian society is deeply divided. While pro-government candidates still confidently claim support from about 15 percent of voters, historically low turnout in recent elections points to growing frustration with the status quo, Mr. Azizi says. Most observers agree that fatigue with corruption, economic stagnation and international isolation is now affecting all social classes.
Some anti-regime Iranians have even suggested that an Israeli strike could finally put them out of their misery .
“War is the only hope and option when we can get rid of them [the IRGC], they persecute us on the streets every day, and because of them the whole world looks at us as terrorists,” said Fatemeh from the northern city of Tabriz, citing Iranian authorities.
“It doesn’t matter if I die in the war, I just want them to go away and let Iran be free. I'm tired of the IRGC, the Basij and everyone else. I just want them all to go.» Conscript Mr. Rezaei says he struggles between an unwillingness to fight and a painful sense of patriotic duty to «defend» Iran.
«My uncle died during the war with Iraq, and I think that I should just follow him and protect Iran from aggressors, but I hope that war will not happen. I just want to finish my service so I can get a passport and leave Iran with my mother,” he said.
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