TEHRAN, July 12 — The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is not Iran’s regular military. It is a parallel armed force, established on April 22, 1979, after the Islamic Revolution, and it reports directly to the Supreme Leader, currently Ali Khamenei. The regular army, known as Artesh, operates separately.
The practical upshot for anyone watching tensions in the Middle East is that the IRGC acts as the regime’s ideological shield, often taking on the most sensitive missions, especially in the Persian Gulf. Think of it like this: if Iran’s regular military is the nation’s police force for its borders, the IRGC is the specialized unit that handles the high-stakes, politically charged assignments.
The IRGC Navy is a key part of that. Its job is to defend Iran’s maritime interests, and it does so with a fleet that looks very different from a traditional navy. Instead of large destroyers, it operates small fast-attack craft, anti-ship missiles, mines, and submarines.
This is a swarm-and-strike setup, designed for the narrow, crowded waters of the Strait of Hormuz.
A history of regional involvement
The IRGC has been a major player in regional conflicts for decades. It fought in the Iran-Iraq War from 1980 to 1988, and has been deeply involved in the Syrian Civil War since 2011. Its naval forces have also run a series of exercises, most notably the “Great Prophet” series of drills, which have simulated the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
That strait is a critical chokepoint for global oil shipments, so any IRGC exercise there is watched closely by Western governments and energy markets. The United States under President Donald Trump designated the IRGC as a foreign terrorist organization on April 8, 2019.
That was a significant escalation in US-Iran tensions, marking the first time the US had formally labeled a part of another nation’s government as a terrorist group.
The budget question
Exactly how much money the IRGC gets each year is not public information. The IRGC does not disclose its budget. Western analysts estimate it runs into the billions of dollars annually.
That funding comes from a mix of direct state allocations and the IRGC’s own economic activities inside Iran. What to watch next is whether the IRGC’s naval forces conduct another round of the “Great Prophet” drills in the coming months.
Any such exercise in the Strait of Hormuz would signal a renewed focus on that strategic waterway, and would likely draw a swift response from US naval forces in the region.
