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EXPLAINED: Iranian revolutionary guard corps - The Real Truth

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard would fiercely resist a US ground invasion. History proves it

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has long exerted a strong, often underestimated power in the Middle East. With around 190,000 members, plus an estimated 450,000 reserves in the Basij paramilitary, the largest component of Iran’s Armed Forces also controls much of the country’s politics, intelligence and economy.

The Conversation

Trump-Iran latest: Iranian president backs nuclear talks – but only if they are ‘free from threats’

First meeting between US and Iran envoys since Tehran's 12-day war with Israel expected on Friday

The Independent UK

IRGC Retrieves Hundreds of Millions of Dollars from Abroad

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps intelligence unit announced it retrieved $560 million in revenues from frozen mining sector exports abroad. The KhabarOnline news agency reported that the IRGC's public relations returned over 92 percent of the financial pledges to the Chadormalu Mining and Industrial Company in Yazd province, equivalent to…

Asharq Al-Awsat

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Iran Vows Revenge for Revolutionary Guards Killed in Israeli Strikes on Syria

Thousands of Iranians attended a funeral procession in Tehran on Tuesday for two Revolutionary Guards killed in Israeli strikes in Syria last week. Israel launched several missiles on Friday from the occupied Golan Heights against positions near Damascus, part of a series of attacks over recent days including early Tuesday.…

Asharq Al-Awsat

Iranians Protest in Zahedan Despite Tight Security

Thousands took to the streets in Zahedan Friday despite the checkpoints and roadblocks established by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) forces and police officers. Videos from the march showed protesters carrying banners and chanting against the Iranian government. The military forces designated checkpoints in different areas of Zahedan and…

Asharq Al-Awsat

US Says Iran is the World's Leading Sponsor of Terrorism

US State Department spokesman Ned Price described Iran as "the world's leading sponsor of terrorism." During a press briefing in Washington, Price commented on the European Parliament's resolution to declare the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) a foreign terrorist organization. He confirmed that this is a recognition by European partners…

Asharq Al-Awsat

UK Vows More Action Against Iran after Execution

Britain on Monday vowed more reprisals against what it said was Tehran's "weakened and isolated regime" after it executed a UK-Iranian dual national. Following the killing of Alireza Akbari on Saturday, the UK summoned Iran's most senior diplomat and recalled its own ambassador. But despite slapping sanctions on Iran's prosecutor…

Asharq Al-Awsat

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Yemeni Army Accuses Militias of Testing Anti-Ship Missile

The Yemeni army accused the Houthi militia of testing an anti-ship missile launched from Sanaa, which landed in the Red Sea waters off Hodeidah. The army spokesman, Brigadier General Abdo Majali, announced that the Houthis conducted an anti-ship missile test from the Nehm district, which landed west of Hodeidah in…

Asharq Al-Awsat

Iran Hypersonic Missile Claim Raises Nuclear Watchdog Concern

An Iranian general claimed Thursday that the Iranian republic had developed a hypersonic missile capable of penetrating all defense systems, raising concerns from the UN nuclear watchdog. Hypersonic missiles, which like traditional ballistic missiles can deliver nuclear weapons, can fly at more than five times the speed of sound. "This…

Asharq Al-Awsat

Siamak Namazi Returns to Prison in Iran

Iranian American businessman Siamak Namazi was forced to return to Tehran's Evin prison on Wednesday after Iranian authorities had given him a furlough on Oct. 1 and let his elderly father leave Iran for medical treatment on Oct. 5, their lawyer said. Namazi, who in 2016 was convicted of espionage-related…

Asharq Al-Awsat

Canada Says to Deny Entry to 10,000 Members of 'Murderous' Iran Regime

Canada announced Friday it will permanently deny entry to more than 10,000 members of Iran's "murderous" regime, including the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps that Ottawa blames for "heinous" acts against the Iranian people. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he would list Iran under "the most powerful provision" of Canada's immigration…

Asharq Al-Awsat

Iran Launches New Strikes on Kurdish Sites

Iran renewed bombing of sites in the Kurdistan region in northern Iraq, said an official from Komala Iranian-Kurdish opposition. Atta Nasser said that the Iranian forces launched artillery fire and drone strikes on bases used by exiled Iranian group Komala in the Mount Halgurd area, near the Iranian border. The…

Asharq Al-Awsat

Report: Syria Asked Iran Not to Attack Israel from its Territories

Syrian officials have asked Iran and its proxies not to carry out attacks against Israel from its territory, The New York Times reported on Friday citing a source in Damascus. It said this request led the Iran-led axis to retaliate against Israeli strikes by hitting US bases instead. The source…

Asharq Al-Awsat

Iran Drops Demand to Remove IRGC from US Terror List

Iran has officially dropped a key red line demand that had been a major sticking point in efforts to revive the nuclear deal, a senior US administration official told CNN. In its response to a draft nuclear deal agreement proposed by the European Union -- which the EU has described…

Asharq Al-Awsat

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Asharq Al-Awsat

Britain Refutes Iranian Media Reports on British Diplomat Arrest

Britain’s Foreign Office has refuted reports on the arrest of a British diplomat in Iran. “Reports of the arrest of a British diplomat in Iran are completely false,” a foreign ministry spokesman said in London. On Wednesday, Iran’s Fars news agency and state television had reported that the Iranian Revolutionary…

Asharq Al-Awsat

IRGC Says Won’t Allow its Ranks to be Infiltrated

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) will not allow the entry of "virus and termites" into the military institution, asserted the deputy of the Supreme Leader's representative, Hossein Tayyebifar. Tayyebifar, the IRGC's deputy for clerical affairs, said the IRGC should train forces who will not hesitate to pull the trigger.…

Asharq Al-Awsat

Iran Blames US for Stalled Nuclear Talks

Iran said on Monday that Tehran is ready to reach a "good deal" with world powers, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh told a televised news conference, blaming the US for stalling talks to revive their 2015 nuclear pact. "Even today, we are ready to return to Vienna to reach a…

Asharq Al-Awsat

EU Says Talks with Iran ‘Positive Enough’ to Reopen Nuclear Negotiations

The EU's foreign policy chief said on Friday that he believed there had been enough progress during consultations between his envoy and Iranian officials in Tehran this week to relaunch nuclear negotiations after two months of deadlock. Talks to revive Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers have been on…

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Asharq Al-Awsat

US Intelligence: IRGC to Escalate Attacks in Case of Sanctions Waivers

A US top official said Iran would increase its targeting of Americans and US allies as a result of the Biden administration’s significant sanctions relief and offer to return to the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement. US Army Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, said in a…

Asharq Al-Awsat

Hezbollah Opens Workshops to Repair Drones in Homs Countryside

Lebanon’s Hezbollah has recently established workshops in Syria to manufacture artillery, rockets, and landmines and repair drones and various kinds of weapons, said sources in the southeastern countryside of Homs. Sources said the workshops were established under the supervision of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) experts in a fortified depot…

Asharq Al-Awsat

Israel Welcomes US Stance from IRGC

The Israeli government welcomed an alleged US decision to keep the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on its list of terrorist organizations. The government asserted that the move is significant and indicates that Washington is beginning to understand the position of regional countries that have suffered from terrorist attacks. The…

Asharq Al-Awsat

Iranian Militias Deployed in Central Syria after Russia's Withdrawal

Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) forces, the Lebanese Hezbollah and the Fourth Division led by Major General Maher al-Assad, have reinforced their military presence in the Mahin military warehouse in the eastern countryside of Homs - the second largest arms and ammunition depot in Syria.

Asharq Al-Awsat

US Administration Reluctant to Remove IRGC from Terror List

The region covered by the US Central Command “is where we protect waterways so that global commerce can flow,” said US Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin, in remarks during a change of command ceremony at CENTCOM. “It is where we fight terrorists who threaten our citizens. And it is…

Asharq Al-Awsat

Iranian FM Faces Criticism Despite Holding onto IRGC Delisting

Iran’s demand from the US to remove the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) from its terrorist list has transformed from an unresolved issue at the Vienna talks to an item for internal controversy among conservatives in the cleric-led country. Controversy is raging in Tehran despite Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian…

Asharq Al-Awsat

Congress Warns Biden of Making ‘Concessions’ to Iran

Republican and Democratic lawmakers warned the US administration against removing the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) from terrorism lists in exchange for Tehran's possible return to the nuclear agreement. Lawmakers were furious after a two-hour closed briefing with the US Special Envoy for Iran, Rob Malley, on the updates of…

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