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84-508: It was founded in 1979 as a successor to the Pahlavi Foundation. As an economic, cultural, and social welfare institution, the foundation controls manufacturing and industrial companies, whose profits are used—according to the foundation—to promote "the living standards of the disabled and poor individuals" of Iran and to "develop general public awareness with regards to history, books, museums, and cinema." The Mostazafan Foundation

168-544: A Takavar (special force) unit, called Sepah Navy Special Force (S.N.S.F.). The navy received 750 new ships 2024 July. Corps Intelligence directorate are accused of meddling in the 2021 Iranian presidential election . The 2020 edition of The Military Balance, published by IISS , says the IRGC has about 190,000 active personnel and controls the Basij on mobilisation (as much as 40,000 active paramilitary forces). It estimates

252-484: A fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations , the likely reason for the closure was that "the local interest, particularly Revolutionary Guards, desired a greater share of the profits". The Guardian and The Washington Post made similar comments. The latter also described the airport as a symbol of the divide between those Iranians who wanted to engage more with the world and those who did not. On 30 April 2005,

336-527: A new order to Iran. In time, the Pasdaran would rival the police and the judiciary in terms of its functions. Although the IRGC operated independently of the regular armed forces, it was often considered to be a military force in its own right due to its important role in Iranian defense. The IRGC consists of ground, naval, and aviation troops, which parallel the structure of the regular military. The Pasdaran

420-420: A number of controversies common to other bonyads in the years since its inception. The foundation and other bonyads are "exempt from official oversight as key religious leaders and former or current government officials control them. They enjoy virtual tax exemption and customs privileges, preferential access to credit and foreign exchange, and regulatory protection from private sector competition". In 2003, there

504-418: A provincial corps, except Tehran Province, which will have two. In 2007 command for cyber security was established part of cyberdefense of IRGC. It was renamed in 2014, abbreviated GCDC or CIOC. Basij Mustazafin were initially separate organization but were merged in 1980 into Corps and merged to its land forces since 2008. The Basij is a paramilitary volunteer militia or "plainclothes militia" founded by

588-592: A senior IRGC commander was killed in combat near Mosul, Iraq. In December 2019, the U.S. Air Force conducted airstrikes on weapons caches and facilities of the IRGC-sponsored militant group Kata'ib Hezbollah . In retaliation, the group attacked the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad in the Green Zone . On 3 January 2020, Soleimani was killed in a U.S. drone strike at Baghdad International Airport along with

672-485: A soldier and have military training. ... a country with 20 million young people [should have] 20 million riflemen, an army of 20 million" This pronouncement and Article 151 of the constitution, which calls for the government to "provide a program of military training, with all requisite facilities, for all its citizens, in accordance with the Islamic criteria, in such a way that all citizens will always be able to engage in

756-466: A whole from the entire Vahnabad Rural District. A large part of the land north of the airport (now under the northern belt of the airport city) consists of the land donated by local residents Hasan Latifiyan and his wife Zahra Abdullahi for the construction and expansion of the airport (before the creation of the airport city). Part of the CNS equipment of the airport city, such as the special ILS approach and

840-405: Is a special operations unit, handling activities abroad. The force basically does not engage directly. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force or Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Air and Space Force (IRGCASF; Persian : نیروی هوافضای سپاه پاسداران انقلاب اسلامی , romanized :  niru-ye havâfazây-e sepâh-e pâsdârân-e enghelâb-e eslâmi , officially acronymed NEHSA )

924-608: Is also their title and comes after their rank . Apart from the name Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps , the Iranian Government, media, and those who identify with the organization generally use Sepāh-e Pâsdârân (Army of the Guardians), although it is not uncommon to hear Pâsdârân-e Enghelâb ( پاسداران انقلاب ) (Guardians of the Revolution), or simply Pâsdârân ( پاسداران ) (Guardians) as well. Among

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1008-488: Is associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps where some of its head officials have come from. Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi established the Pahlavi Foundation as a tax-exempt charity in 1958. This foundation held the assets of Mohammad Reza Shah, his predecessor, and many of his family, who later served on the corporate board and received commissions. The Pahlavi Foundation's wealth

1092-540: Is named for Ruhollah Khomeini , Iran's first supreme leader. The airport is operated by Imam Khomeini Airport City Company. It covers 13,400 hectares (33,000 acres) and has two terminals and two runways. All international flights into Tehran are served by the airport, and all domestic flights land at Mehrabad Airport . Imam Khomeini Airport is a hub for four airlines. As of the fiscal year ending on 20 March 2019, it ranked third in terms of passenger traffic in Iran. The airport

1176-601: Is neither a public entity, nor a private one. It is classified as a nonprofit organization , in which the government cannot interfere in its affairs. The foundation only answers to the Supreme Leader . The foundation is involved in numerous sectors of the economy, including shipping, metal, petrochemicals, construction materials, dams, towers, farming, horticulture, tourism , transportation, hotels, and commercial services. It controls 40% of Iran's production of soft drinks, including Zamzam Cola which it owns and produces;

1260-775: Is the strategic missile , air , and space force within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of Iran . It was renamed from the IRGC Air Force into the IRGC Aerospace Force in 2009. Its 15,000 personnel man around 80 aircraft and operates several thousand short- and medium-range mobile ballistic missiles, including the Shahab-3/3B with a range of up to 2,100 kilometers. IRGC started naval operations using mainly swarm tactics and speedboats during " Tanker War " phase of

1344-611: Is to ensure the integrity of the Islamic Republic . Most interpretations of this mandate assert that it entrusts the IRGC with preventing foreign interference in Iran , thwarting coups by the traditional military, and crushing "deviant movements" that harm the ideological legacy of the Islamic Revolution. Currently, the IRGC is designated as a terrorist organization by Bahrain , Canada , Saudi Arabia , Sweden and

1428-601: The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps ( IRGC ). The US government standard is Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps , while the United Nations uses Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps . The force's main role is to provide national security. It is responsible for internal and border security, law enforcement, and also Iran's missile forces . IRGC operations are geared towards asymmetric warfare and less traditional duties. These include

1512-519: The 2009 presidential election and the suppression of post-election protests —has led many Western analysts to argue that it has surpassed even the country's ruling clerical class in terms of political power. Since 2019, Hossein Salami has served as the IRGC's incumbent commander-in-chief. Government organizations in Iran are commonly known by one-word names (that generally denote their function) rather than acronyms or shortened versions, and

1596-599: The Basij militia. The Basij is a volunteer-based force, with 90,000 regular soldiers and 300,000 reservists. The IRGC is officially recognized as a component of the Iranian military under Article 150 of the Iranian Constitution . It is separate from, and parallel to, the other arm of Iran 's military, which is called Artesh (another Persian word for an army). Especially in the waters of the Persian Gulf ,

1680-554: The Hajj and Umrah had relocated from Mehrabad to Imam Khomeini Airport. The airport also signed an agreement in 2016 with Milan-based Italian firm SEA to manage the airport's handling activities. Air France , Alitalia , British Airways and KLM resumed service to Tehran in 2016 following the Iran nuclear deal . Thai Airways commenced service to Iran as well. All five carriers suspended their flights two years later, stating that they were not financially viable. Analysts said

1764-527: The Iranian government's annual budget in 2003. the MJF has an estimated value of more than $ 3 billion. As employers of approximately five million Iranians and providers of social welfare services to "perhaps several million more", bonyads such as Mostazafan "have a large constituency and are able to build support for the government among the working and lower classes." Nonetheless, the foundation has been subject to

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1848-783: The Quds Force , the commando arm of the IRGC that had been blamed for repeated acts of violence in Iraq, and "high-value targets" in the war on terror. In October 2009, several top commanders of the Revolutionary Guards were killed in a suicide bombing in the Pishin region of Sistan-Baluchistan , in the south-east of Iran. The Iranian state television said 31 people died in the attack, and more than 25 were injured. Shia and Sunni tribal leaders were also killed. The Sunni Baluchi insurgent group Jundullah claimed responsibility for

1932-574: The Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 incident. However, the IRGC later admitted that the plane had been shot down by mistake. Imam Khomeini International Airport Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport ( IATA : IKA , ICAO : OIIE ) ( Persian : فرودگاه بین‌المللی امام خمینی ) is the international airport of Tehran , the capital of Iran. It is located 2 kilometers (1 mi) of Vahnabad and 35 kilometres (22 miles) southwest of Tehran and

2016-466: The United States . As of 2024 , the IRGC had approximately 125,000 total personnel. The IRGC Navy is now Iran's primary force exercising operational control over the Persian Gulf . The IRGC's Basij , a paramilitary volunteer militia, has about 90,000 active personnel. It operates a media arm, known as "Sepah News" within Iran. On 16 March 2022, it adopted a new independent branch called

2100-551: The "Command for the Protection and Security of Nuclear Centres" involved with Iran's nuclear programme . Originating as an ideological militia, the IRGC has taken a greater role in nearly every aspect of Iranian politics and society. In 2010, BBC News described the organization as an "Empire". In 2019, Reuters described it as "an industrial empire with political clout". IRGC's expanded social, political, military, and economic role under Mahmoud Ahmadinejad —especially during

2184-451: The $ 350 million Imam Khomeini Airport reopened under the management of a consortium of four Iranian airlines— Caspian Airlines , Iran Aseman Airlines , Kish Air and Mahan Air . No ceremony was held to mark the occasion due to persistent tensions. The first arrival was an Iran Air flight from Dubai. In the beginning, the airport only had flights to a few Middle Eastern countries. By March 2008, all international flights excluding those for

2268-484: The Basij serve as an auxiliary force engaged in activities such as internal security as well as law enforcement auxiliary, the providing of social service, organizing of public religious ceremonies, and as morality police and the suppression of dissident gatherings. The elite Quds Force (or Jerusalem Force), sometimes described as the successor to the Shah 's Imperial Guards , is estimated to be 2,000–5,000 in number. It

2352-613: The Ground Force is 150,000 strong and the Aerospace Force, which controls Iran's strategic-missile force, has some 15,000 personnel. The Naval Forces are estimated to size at least 20,000, including 5,000 Marines . During the Lebanese Civil War , the IRGC allegedly sent troops to train fighters in response to the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon . In Lebanon, political parties had staunch opinions regarding

2436-524: The IRGC is expected to assume control of any Iranian response to attacks on its nuclear facilities. The IRGC was formed on 5 May 1979 following the Iranian Revolution of 1979 in an effort to consolidate several paramilitary forces into a single force loyal to the new government and to function as a counter to the influence and power of the regular military, initially seen as a potential source of opposition because of its traditional loyalty to

2520-469: The IRGC was in the process of dramatically changing its structure. In a shake-up, in September 2008 Iran's Revolutionary Guards established 31 divisions and an autonomous missile command. The new structure changes the IRGC from a centralized to a decentralized force with 31 provincial corps, whose commanders wield extensive authority and power. According to the plan, each of Iran's thirty provinces will have

2604-592: The IRGC's presence. Some, mainly the Christian militias such as the Lebanese Forces , Phalanges , and most of the Christian groups declared war on the IRGC, claiming they violated Lebanese sovereignty, while others, including Muslim militias, were neutral to their presence. Groups such as the PSP and Mourabiton did not approve of their presence, but to preserve political alliances they decided to remain silent on

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2688-885: The IRGC; their status as members of the Iranian military is only vaguely acknowledged and sometimes denied, despite the troops being uniformed fighters led by IRGC officers. They were trained and equipped in Iran, paid salaries by the Iranian military, and received state funerals involving uniformed IRGC personnel. Mid to late October 2015 was particularly bloody for the IRGC, due to them stepping up their involvement in offensives around Aleppo . During this time, 30 IRGC officers, including "three generals, battalion commanders, captains and lieutenants" and "one pilot" were killed in fighting in Syria, as were several Afghan and Pakistani auxiliaries. The fallen included General Hossein Hamadani , Farshad Hosounizadeh (IRGC colonel and former commander of

2772-697: The Iranian population, and especially among diaspora Iranians, using the word Pasdaran indicates hatred or admiration for the organization. Most foreign governments and the English-speaking mass media tend to use the term Iranian Revolutionary Guards ( IRG ) or simply the Revolutionary Guards . In the US media, the force is frequently referred to interchangeably as the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps or

2856-562: The Iran–Iraq War. IRGC Navy and the regular Artesh Navy overlap functions and areas of responsibility, but they are distinct in terms of how they are trained and equipped—and more importantly also in how they fight. The Revolutionary Guards Navy has a large inventory of small fast attack craft, and specializes in asymmetric hit-and-run tactics . It is more akin to a guerrilla force at sea, and maintains large arsenals of coastal defense and anti-ship cruise missiles and mines. It has also

2940-647: The Iraqi government in its fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Major General Qasem Soleimani was an instrumental force in the Iranian ground mission in Iraq against ISIS , purportedly planning the Second Battle of Tikrit . In December 2014, Brigadier General Hamid Taqavi , a veteran of the 1980–1988 Iran–Iraq War , was killed by snipers in Samarra . In May 2017, Shaaban Nassiri,

3024-666: The Islamic Revolution ' ), also known as the Iranian Revolutionary Guards , is a multi-service primary branch of the Iranian Armed Forces . It was officially established by Ruhollah Khomeini as a military branch in May 1979 in the aftermath of the Iranian Revolution . Whereas the Iranian Army protects the country's sovereignty in a traditional capacity, the IRGC's constitutional mandate

3108-656: The Islamic Revolution, the Pahlavi Foundation was renamed the Bonyad-e Mostazafan (Foundation of the Oppressed), and its economic assets increased by more than double after the property of fifty millionaires was confiscated and added to the endowment. A decade after the Revolution, the foundation's assets totaled more than $ 20 billion, and included "some 140 factories, 470 agrobusinesses, 100 construction firms, 64 mines, and 250 commercial companies." By 1994,

3192-513: The Middle East and the rest of Asia such as Damascus, Guangzhou and Mumbai. Tehran is also linked to destinations in Europe like London and Moscow. In the fiscal year ending on 20 March 2019, the airport handled 7.27 million passengers, making it the third busiest in Iran. It received 142,000 tonnes of cargo, and the number of aircraft movements was 47,000. Imam Khomeini International Airport

3276-617: The PMF commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis . Iran revolutionary guards said that they had shot down an Israeli drone approaching the Natanz nuclear facility . According to ISNA , "The downed aircraft was of the stealth, radar-evasive type ... and was targeted by a ground-to-air missile before it managed to enter the area." The statement by revolutionary guards did not mention how they recognized it as an Israeli drone. Israel offered no comment. Iranian authorities initially denied responsibility for

3360-473: The Pahlavi Foundation gained media attention because in order to do such foreign investment the foundation had to register as an American charitable foundation with the declared aim of using the rental to pay for Iranian students studying in the United States. The advantage of such charitable status was that the US authorities could not investigate the books of the Pahlavi Foundation in Iran. Following

3444-427: The Pasdaran under a decree issued by Khomeini on 5 May. The Pasdaran was intended to protect the Revolution and to assist the ruling clerics in the day-to-day enforcement of the new government's Islamic codes and morality. There were other, perhaps more important, reasons for establishing the Pasdaran. The Revolution needed to rely on a force of its own rather than borrowing the previous regime's tainted units. As one of

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3528-781: The Saberin Special Forces Brigade), Mostafa Sadrzadeh (commander of the Omar Battalion of the Fatmiyoon Brigade), and Hamid Mojtaba Mokhtarband (IRGC commander). Two battalions of Revolutionary Guards were reported to be operating in Iraq trying to combat the 2014 Northern Iraq offensive . The IRGC is considered to be a principle backer of the Popular Mobilization Forces , a loose coalition of Shi'a militias allied with

3612-547: The Salaam International Terminal. Terminal 1 is shaped like an arc whose ends merge into the desert horizon. A third terminal called Iranshahr is in the planning phase. There are two runways: The first 450 metres (1,480 ft) of 11L/29R are made of concrete, the rest of asphalt. 11R/29L is entirely made of asphalt. An instrument landing system was installed in August 2009. Imam Khomeini Airport

3696-642: The Shah. From the beginning of the new Islamic government, the Pasdaran (Pasdaran-e Enghelab-e Islami) functioned as a corps of the faithful. The Constitution of the Islamic Republic entrusted the defense of Iran's territorial integrity and political independence to the regular military ( artesh ) , while it gave the Pasdaran the responsibility of preserving the Revolution itself. Days after Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's return to Tehran on 1 February 1979, Mehdi Bazargan 's interim administration established

3780-532: The Syrian war, Iran had between 2,000 and 3,000 IRGC officers stationed in Syria, helping to train local troops and managing supply routes of arms and money to neighboring Lebanon. General Qa'ani, Senior officer of Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution, said: "If the Islamic Republic was not present in Syria, the massacre of civilians would have been twice as bad. Had physically and non-physically stopped

3864-475: The airlines that fly into Imam Khomeini Airport are based in Turkey and the Middle East. The airport is served by two Western airlines, Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines . It is a hub for Iran Air , Iran Aseman Airlines , Mahan Air and Meraj Airlines . Imam Khomeini Airport receives all international flights to Tehran, while Mehrabad Airport caters to domestic traffic. There are flights to several cities in

3948-483: The airport to represent Iran's opening to the international community and hoped it would become the largest in the Middle East. The Economist Intelligence Unit commented that the Dubai airport already served as a hub in the region and that the new airport was unlikely to overcome existing barriers to tourism such as the government's rigid social rules. Some Iranians including the directors of two airlines objected to

4032-406: The armed defense of the Islamic Republic of Iran," are believed to refer to the Basij. While "Iranian official estimates sometime put their total part-time and full-time strength at more than 20 million", others estimate the Basij as having "a core strength of 90,000, and up to 600,000" (CSIS, 11 January 2018, p. 4); at 100,000 with "hundreds of thousands of additional Basij could be mobilized in

4116-705: The attack. The Iranian government initially blamed the United States for involvement in the attacks, as well as Saudi Arabia , the United Kingdom and later Pakistan for their alleged support of the Jundallah group. The United States denied involvement, but some reports of US assistance to Jundallah during the Bush administration have come from Western sources. The attacks appear to have originated in Pakistan and several suspects have been arrested. Prior to

4200-568: The balance of power in Iran to the advantage of conservatives. Analysis in the international press considered the removal of Safavi to be a sign of change in the defense strategies of Iran, but the general policies of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps are not personally determined by its commander. Iran's top nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh , was assassinated in Tehran , Iran on 27 November 2020. Fakhrizadeh

4284-465: The control of smuggling, control of the Strait of Hormuz , and resistance operations. The IRGC is intended to complement the more traditional role of the regular Iranian military, with the two forces operating separately and focusing on different operational roles. The IRGC is a combined arms force with its own ground forces , navy , air force , intelligence , and special forces . It also controls

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4368-471: The country. Later that year, the conservative-dominated parliament impeached Khatami's minister of transportation, Ahmad Khorram , partly because of the TAV contract. It also granted itself the right to veto the deal and another one that the government had signed with a Turkish firm. The agreement with TAV was ultimately annulled. The incident soured relations between Iran and Turkey. According to Ray Takeyh ,

4452-505: The country. The airport reopened in April 2005 with four Iranian carriers in charge of operations. In 2019, a second terminal was completed. The airport city is located at the end of Rabat Karim and Ray counties in Tehran province and under Vahnabad Rural District (formerly a part of it). During the construction of this airport, the southern village of Nodeh was integrated into the airport as

4536-414: The deal with TAV. Their primary concern was that Turkey had links to Iran's foe Israel. On 7 May 2004, the military forced TAV's staff to leave the premises with their equipment and granted management of the facility to Iran Air . The following day, an Emirates flight from Dubai became the first to land. Hours later, however, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps closed the airport by driving tanks onto

4620-528: The director of the Iranian Studies program at Stanford), the regime "clearly ... believed it was going to lose control, and the IRGC and the Basij saved the day. The result is that the IRGC now has the upper hand. Khamenei knows that without the IRGC he'd be out of a job in twenty-four hours." Yahya Rahim Safavi , head of the IRGC since 1997, was dismissed as commander in chief of the Revolutionary Guards in August 2007. The dismissal of Safavi disrupted

4704-502: The early 1990s. In 1995, the French firm Aéroports de Paris was selected as the primary consultant, and construction of the terminal, which Paul Andreu had redesigned, started. By 2000, the airport had been renamed after Ruhollah Khomeini , the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran. In 2003, Tepe-Akfen-Vie (TAV), a Turkish-Austrian consortium, reached an agreement with the reformist administration of Mohammad Khatami to operate

4788-588: The event or an all-out war" (CRS, 23 May 2018, p. 18). The Basij are "the most visible symbol" of the Pasdaran's strength, whose members "can be seen on street corners in every Iranian city". They are (at least in theory) subordinate to, and receive their orders from, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and current Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. However they have also been described as "a loosely allied group of organizations" including "many groups controlled by local clerics." Currently,

4872-479: The first revolutionary institutions, the Pasdaran helped legitimize the Revolution and gave the new government an armed basis of support. Moreover, the establishment of the Pasdaran served notice to both the population and the regular armed forces that the Khomeini government was quickly developing its own enforcement body. Thus, the Pasdaran, along with its political counterpart, Crusade for Reconstruction, brought

4956-560: The foundation changed its name back to Bonyad Mostazafan as the "Martyrs and War Veterans Foundation" took over war veterans affairs. Important Revolutionary Guards who have headed the foundation include Mohsen Rafighdoost , who served as Minister of the Revolutionary Guards from 1982 to 1989 before heading the foundation until 1999; and Mohammad Forouzandeh , the chief of staff of the Revolutionary Guard in

5040-437: The foundation conducted six trillion rials' worth of business transactions, compared with 5.5 trillion rials collected by the government in taxes. By 1996 the foundation began taking government funds to cover welfare disbursements. Because of the Iran–Iraq War , the foundation was given the responsibility to supervise and aid veterans wounded in the war and the name Janbazan (disabled) added to it. Sometime before December 2005

5124-426: The foundation's contract work also includes large engineering projects, such as the construction of Terminal One of the Imam Khomeini International Airport . Mostazafan also has a history of soliciting contract work abroad. It currently maintains economic connections with countries in the Middle East, Europe, Africa, and South Asia, as well as in Russia and other former states of the Soviet Union. According to one of

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5208-519: The foundation's former directors, Mohsen Rafighdoost , Mostazafan allocates 50 percent of its profits to providing aid to the needy in the form of low-interest loans or monthly pensions, while it invests the remaining 50 percent in its various subsidiaries. With over 200,000 employees, it owns and operates approximately 350 subsidiary and affiliate companies in numerous industries including agriculture, industry, transportation, and tourism. Bonyad-e Mostazafan va Janbazan represented approximately 10 percent of

5292-439: The general populace universally refers to the IRGC as Sepâh ( سپاه ) ( Sepoy ; Sipahi ). Sepâh has a historical connotation of soldiers, while in modern Persian it is also used to describe a corps-sized unit – in modern Persian Artesh ( ارتش ) is the more standard term for an army. Pâsdârân ( پاسداران ) is the plural form of Pâsdâr ( پاسدار ), meaning "Guardian", and members of Sepah are known as Pāsdār , which

5376-416: The late 1980s and later Defense Minister, who was head of the foundation from 1999 to 2014. The United States imposed sanctions and blacklisted the Bonyad Mostazafan, an organization controlled by Khamenei. The sanctions froze U.S. assets and bared Americans from doing business with them. The foundation controls hundreds of properties confiscated since the 1979 revolution. Legally, the Mostazafan Foundation,

5460-451: The main reason for the airlines' decisions was that the United States had exited the nuclear agreement and decided to reinstate sanctions on Iran. In June 2019, President Hassan Rouhani inaugurated the Salaam International Terminal. The airport occupies 13,400 hectares (33,000 acres) and is operated by Imam Khomeini Airport City Company, which is part of the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development . It has two terminals: Terminal 1 and

5544-414: The matter. During the 2006 Lebanon War , several Iranian Revolutionary Guards were reportedly killed by Israeli forces in Baalbek , a town close to the Syrian border. Israeli officials believe that Iranian Revolutionary Guards forces were responsible for training and equipping the Hezbollah fighters behind the missile attack on the INS Hanit which left four Israeli sailors dead and seriously damaged

5628-487: The newspapers Ettelaat and Kayhan . It "controls 20% of the country's production of textiles ... two-thirds of all glass products and a dominant share also in tiles, chemicals, tires, foodstuffs." Its total value was estimated by one source at "as much as $ 12 billion," by another as "in all probability exceed[ing] $ 10 billion." Mostazafan's largest subsidiary is the Agricultural and Food Industries Organization (AFIO), which owns more than 115 additional companies. Some of

5712-420: The order of the Ayatollah Khomeini in November 1979. On November 4, 1979, in an address to the Revolutionary Guards during the Iran hostage crisis , Khomeini ordered the creation of an army of "twenty million Iranians" ( Artesh-e bis million ), proclaiming: Equip yourself, get military training and train your friends. Give military training to those who are not trained. In an Islamic country, everyone should be

5796-444: The original designers were the American company Tippetts-Abbett-McCarthy-Stratton and the Iranian firm Farman-Farmayan. In 1977, construction began 35 kilometres (22 mi) southwest of Tehran. The revolution and war with Iraq caused delays, and work on the runway recommenced in 1989. Due to the economic impact of the war and Iran's isolation in the international community, President Akbar Rafsanjani focused on other endeavours in

5880-466: The plane's engines had failed, its landing gear had jammed, and there was snow and poor visibility at the time. On 7 July 2008, investigative journalist and author Seymour Hersh wrote an article in The New Yorker stating that the Bush Administration had signed a presidential finding authorizing the CIA 's Special Activities Division to begin cross border paramilitary operations from Iraq and Afghanistan into Iran. These operations would be against

5964-516: The rank of Brigadier. Additionally, 354 Afghan combatants had died who were fighting under the command of the IRGC, as part of the IRGC-equipped and trained Fatemiyoun Brigade , which is part of Hezbollah Afghanistan . Another 21 Pakistanis also died as part of the Zainabiyoun Brigade . The Afghan and Pakistani immigrants volunteered to go to Syria in exchange for salaries and citizenship. The Afghans were recruited largely from refugees inside Iran, and usually had combat experience before joining

6048-447: The rebels from killing many more among the Syrian people." Iranian Revolutionary Guard soldiers, along with fellow Shi'ite forces from Hezbollah and members of Iran's Basij militia participated in the capture of Qusair from rebel forces on 9 June 2013. In 2014, Iran increased its deployment of IRGC in Syria. By late 2015, 194 IRGC troops had been killed in Syria; almost all of these soldiers were officers, with several even reaching

6132-430: The right runway 29 (29R) as the main landing strip for foreign planes and the side taxiway, are located in this area. The Iranian government decided prior to the 1979 revolution to build a new airport for Tehran . The city was then the centre of the Middle East, and air traffic was increasing quickly at the existing Mehrabad Airport . The new airport was initially called Tehran or Aryamehr International Airport, and

6216-447: The runway. It threatened to use anti-aircraft fire against the second incoming flight, which fighter jets escorted to Isfahan. The rest of the flights were diverted to Mehrabad. The guards said it was unsafe and an affront to national dignity for foreigners to be in charge of the largest airport in Iran. Conservatives in parliament stated that the consortium had done business with Israel. TAV responded that it had no association with

6300-454: The terminal and construct a second one. It made an initial investment of US$ 15   million in the project. The deal symbolised a shift away from the viewpoint in the government that foreign investment was a form of imperialism . President Khatami inaugurated the airport on 1 February 2004 during celebrations marking the 25th anniversary of the revolution. The plan was for it to handle all international flights to Tehran. Officials wanted

6384-469: The vessel. In January 2006, an IRGC Falcon crashed near Oroumieh , about 560 miles northwest of Tehran, near the Turkish border, Iranian media reported. All fifteen passengers died, including twelve senior IRGC commanders. Among the dead was General Ahmad Kazemi , the IRGC ground forces commander, and Iran–Iraq War veteran. Gen. Masoud Jazayeri, spokesman for the IRGC, told state radio that both of

6468-534: The whole system, so everyone is loyal to him, He is hyperactive. He knows every low-ranking commander and even the names of their children'", according to Mehdi Khalaji of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. The Basij and Pasdaran were instrumental in crushing the Green Movement , and this power gave them political supremecy in Iran. According to at least one source (Abbas Milani,

6552-627: Was "given control of Iran's ballistic missile program in both missile employment and development. Also contained under the umbrella of the more conventional Pasdaran, were the Basij Forces (Mobilization Resistance Force), a network of potentially up to a million active individuals who could be called upon in times of need. The Basij could be committed to assist in the defense of the country against internal or external threats, but by 2008 had also been deployed in mobilizing voters in elections and alleged tampering during such activities. Another element

6636-563: Was believed to be the primary force behind Iran's covert nuclear program for many decades. The New York Times reported that Israel's Mossad was behind that attack and that Mick Mulroy , the former Deputy Defense Secretary for the Middle East said the death of Fakhirizadeh was "a setback to Iran's nuclear program" and he was also a senior officer in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and that "will magnify Iran's desire to respond by force." The Corps have occasionally distributed food aid packages. In late July 2008, reports originating that

6720-500: Was conceived before the 1979 revolution , as Mehrabad Airport was becoming congested. It was scheduled to open in May 2004 under the management of Tepe-Akfen-Vie (TAV), a Turkish-Austrian consortium. However, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps shut it down soon after the first plane landed, citing security fears over allowing foreigners to run the airport. Conservatives in parliament said that TAV had business ties with Iran's enemy Israel. The company stated it had no relationship with

6804-681: Was estimated at $ 3 billion at its height. The Pahlavi Foundation was dogged by accusations of corruption. The Pahlavi Foundation was said to have owned in Iran four leading hotels: the Hilton, the Vanak, the Evin and the Darband. The foundation gained international attention for purchasing the DePinna building on Fifth Avenue , New York, valued in 1975 at $ 14.5 million. Such investment in a foreign market by

6888-432: Was talk of the foundation "spinning off its social responsibilities" and becoming "a purely commercial conglomerate," leaving open the question of who would own it and why it should exist as a foundation. Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps ( IRGC ; Persian : سپاه پاسداران انقلاب اسلامی Sepāh-e Pāsdārān-e Enqelāb-e Eslāmī , lit.   ' Army of Guardians of

6972-448: Was the Quds Force , a special forces element tasked with unconventional warfare roles and known to be involved in providing assistance and training to various militant organizations around the world. The Pasdaran is closely associated with Supreme Leader Khamenei who came to power in 1989, and used the Pasdaran to build support. Reportedly he reached "far down into the ranks and appointed new colonels and brigadiers. 'Khamenei micromanages

7056-540: Was the first in Iran to have one. In 2015, French corporation AccorHotels opened a Novotel and an Ibis hotel on the airport premises, marking the entry of the first international hotel chain into the Iranian market since the 1979 revolution. The company was motivated by the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action . Rexan International Airport Hotels has since taken over management of the hotels and renamed them Rexan and Remis, respectively. Most of

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