Iran Military: Calculations and Miscalculations

by Amir Taheri

• The IRGC and its appendages such as the Mobilization of the Dispossessed (Baseej), the Quds Force and at least four security and intelligence services account for less than five percent of the Iranian population. Yet they have the largest share of plum jobs in the public sector.
• Rather than being the army of a nation-state, it morphed into an armed force that owns a nation-state.
• Khamenei may have another more reason to tone down his usual tantrums: simmering dissatisfaction in both the IRGC and the regular army.
• The favored treatment of the IRGC in terms of salaries and the latest weaponry may be the cause of discontent in the regular army....
• The IRGC's discontent may be rooted in a new wave of purges planned by Khamenei, while aging generals close to him continue to warm their seats.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its appendages such as the Mobilization of the Dispossessed (Baseej), the Quds Force and at least four security and intelligence services account for less than five percent of the Iranian population. Yet they have the largest share of plum jobs in the public sector. Pictured: The head of the IRGC, Hossein Salami, attends a military parade in Tehran, on April 17, 2024. (Photo by Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images)

"Today we are actively and selflessly present in all domains of national life in the service of our Great Leader and martyrdom-seeking people."

This was how two-star General Hossein Salami, Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), boasted about his force's role in Iran.

Leaving aside the "selflessly" and "in the service of...," the general is right.

The IRGC and its appendages such as the Mobilization of the Dispossessed (Baseej), the Quds Force and at least four security and intelligence services account for less than five percent of the Iranian population. Yet they have the largest share of plum jobs in the public sector.

In other words, the IRGC is active in every field except the one that is supposed to be in: national defense.

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