What to know about Iran's Revolutionary Guard, a powerful force that answers only to its supreme leader
#Iran Revolutionary Guard#Supreme Leader#Axis of Resistance#Quds Force#Ballistic missiles#Middle East conflicts#Khamenei#Theocracy
📌 Key Takeaways
The Revolutionary Guard answers only to Iran's supreme leader
The Guard controls vast economic interests and military operations
It has created an 'Axis of Resistance' against Israel and the U.S.
The Guard faces new challenges following Israel's attacks
Questions have arisen about who controls the Guard after recent attacks
📖 Full Retelling
Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has grown into a powerful force within the country's theocracy in March 2026, answering only to its supreme leader and overseeing its ballistic missile arsenal and launching attacks across the Middle East amid escalating tensions following the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in U.S.-Israeli airstrike campaigns. Born out of Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution as a force meant to protect the country's Shiite cleric-overseen government, the Guard was later enshrined in Iran's constitution and operates parallel to the regular armed forces. During the 1980s Iran-Iraq war, the Guard gained prominence and power, and despite facing possible disbandment afterward, Supreme Leader Khamenei granted it powers to expand into private enterprise, allowing the force to thrive through numerous commercial ventures including construction, telecommunications, and even medical services. The Guard's expeditionary Quds Force has been instrumental in creating what Iran describes as its 'Axis of Resistance' against Israel and the United States, supporting groups like Syria's former President Bashar Assad, Lebanon's Hezbollah, Yemen's Houthi rebels, and others in the region, while also being involved in smuggling operations and targeting perceived enemies abroad.
🏷️ Themes
Military Power, Political Influence, Regional Conflicts, Internal Control
Iranian special external operations force (established 1988)
The Quds Force (Persian: نیروی قدس, romanized: niru-ye qods, lit. 'Jerusalem Force') is one of five branches of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). It specializes in unconventional warfare and military intelligence operations. The U.S. Army's General Stanley McChrystal describes the Qud...
Informal Iranian-led military coalition in West Asia
The Axis of Resistance is an informal coalition of Iranian-supported militant and political organizations across West Asia. It unites actors committed to countering the influence of the United States and Israel in the region.
The "Axis" most notably includes the Lebanese Hezbollah, Islamic Resistanc...
Missile that follows a sub-orbital ballistic flightpath
A ballistic missile is a type of missile that follows a ballistic trajectory and is powered only during a relatively brief initial period—most of the flight is unpowered. Short-range ballistic missiles (SRBM) typically stay within the Earth's atmosphere, while most larger missiles travel outside the...
By — Jon Gambrell, Associated Press Jon Gambrell, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter What to know about Iran's Revolutionary Guard, a powerful force that answers only to its supreme leader World Mar 2, 2026 12:25 PM EST DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has grown into a powerful force within the country's theocracy, answering only to its supreme leader and overseeing its ballistic missile arsenal and launching attacks overseas. READ MORE: Here are some of the contenders to be Iran's supreme leader after the killing of Khamenei The force is again in the spotlight as Iran widens its attacks across the Middle East following the start of a U.S.-Israeli airstrike campaign that's already killed the country's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Here's what to know about the Guard. Born out of a revolution The Guard rose out of Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution as a force meant to protect the country's Shiite cleric-overseen government and later became enshrined in its constitution. It operated parallel to Iran's regular armed forces, growing in prominence and power during a long and ruinous war with Iraq in the 1980s. Though it faced possible disbandment after the war, Khamenei granted it powers to expand into private enterprise, allowing the force to thrive. The Guard runs a massive construction company called Khatam al-Anbia and has firms that also build roads, man ports, run telecommunication networks and even offer laser eye surgery. Foreign operations are key for the Guard The Guard's expeditionary Quds Force was key in creating what Iran describes as its "Axis of Resistance" against Israel and the United States. It backed Syria's former President Bashar Assad, Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group, Yemen's Houthi rebels and other groups in the region, growing in power in the wake of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. U.S. officials...
