De Faakto Intelligence Research Observatory
Quds Force, Elite Operators of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard-An Open Source Intelligence Study
Methodology–OSINT research
Summary
The Quds Force is an elite branch of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Force (IRGC). Quds is tasked with achieving sensitive missions beyond Iran’s borders. IRGC was founded in 1979 after the Islamic Revolution, and the Quds unit was raised a year later in 1980 during the Iran-Iraq war. Quds Force members are hybrid citizen-military elite operators, which execute political, diplomatic, religious, and ideological influence operations. Quds units carry out extraterritorial operations in unconventional warfare and intelligence activities. The Special Forces unit is well known for its foreign activities, in particular for providing training, funding and weapons to extremist groups. Quds has provided support to pro-Iranian militias and governments, in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, the Palestinian territories and Afghanistan, and is known to support Hezbollah & Hamas. Quds Force was crucial to the Syrian civil war. Supporting Shiite militants in Syria, it played a pivotal role in ensuring the survival of the Assad regime. Quds Force was active in Iraq, playing a key role in helping the Shiite-dominated government in the fight against Islamic State and thwarting a Kurdish bid for independence. The Quds Force is also considered the lifeline of Houthi rebels in their struggle against the internationally recognized government in Yemen. Understanding the size of Quds Force is difficult, analysts estimate 800 core operators within a 2000 member unit, however some experts think it may be as high as 50,000 strong. Quds training generally takes place in Iran over a 3-6 month period, but also does training of foreign fighters outside Iran. Recruitment offices are strategically placed throughout the Muslim world near Islamic holy sites in Saudi Arabia, Syria and Iraq. Quds operators are comparable to both CIA handlers and Green Berets, tasked with training and equipping foreign military forces. Quds Forces favour unconventional and asymmetric warfare practices as it is ideologically aligned with under resourced terrorist and extremist organizations. Hezbollah for example was founded on Quds Force interventions. The Quds Force operates entirely within the shadows, supporting foreign terror groups and militias, conducting attacks and assassinations, gathering intelligence, and doing anything else Iran needs it to keep hidden behind a veil of plausible deniability. Quds Force has evolved into an organisation with a wider global reach than Islamic State, supporting and funding some of the most dangerous extremist groups on the planet. While Quds Force has carried out direct action terror operations in five of seven continents, it tends to advise and support attacks through its proxies, providing Iran the deniability needed to avoid direct warfare with the United States.
Key Research Points
Comparing Quds Units to Other Professional Clandestine Paramilitary & Military Operators
- Quds Force operatives could be compared to CIA handlers tasked with developing local intelligence
- Others are more like American Green Berets, tasked with training and equipping foreign military forces, known to engage in unconventional warfare operations themselves, often in the form of terror attacks, assassinations, and kidnappings (We Are The Mighty, 2019)
Quds-Asymmetric & Unconventional Warfare
- Asymmetric warfare is, in a nutshell, a war between opponents with vastly different levels of resources or capabilities (We Are The Mighty, 2019)
- Iran lacks technological, diplomatic, and financial resources
- There fore Quds utilizes unconventional warfare
- The unconventional approach has aligned Quds with likeminded terror organizations with similar extremist goals
- Organizations like Hezbollah, were even founded through Quds Force interventions
What is Quds Force?
- The Quds force is an elite branch of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, tasked with achieving sensitive missions beyond Iran’s borders
- The Quds unit was raised during the Iran-Iraq War in 1980
- This Special Forces unit is known for its foreign activities
What is Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Force?
- Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Force (IRGC) was founded in 1979 after the Islamic Revolution
- IRGC role was mandated by the late supreme leader Ayatollah Khomeini to protect Iran’s Islamic system and revolutionary values (VOA News, 2019)
What is the Role of Quds Force?
- Quds Force members are hybrid citizen-military elite operators, which execute political, diplomatic, religious, ideological influence operations
- Quds units carry out extraterritorial operations in unconventional warfare and intelligence activities
- This Special Forces unit is known for its foreign activities, in particular for providing training, funding and weapons to extremist groups (Euronews, 2019)
Who Does Quds Force Support & Where Has It Operated?
- Quds Force has provided support to pro-Iranian militias and governments, particularly in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, the Palestinian territories and Afghanistan
- Quds is known to support Hezbollah in Lebanon & Hamas in Gaza
Assad Syria
- The Quds Force was crucial to the Syrian civil war by supporting President Bashar al-Assad against the rebels
- Throughout the course of the conflict in Syria, the Quds Force has evolved and expanded its scope of activities
- By supporting Shiite militants in Syria, it played a pivotal role in ensuring the survival of the Assad regime (Council on Foreign Relations, 2019)
Iraq
- In Iraq, the group played a key role in helping the Shiite-dominated government in the fight against IS and thwarting a Kurdish bid for independence
Yemen Houthi Rebels
- The Quds Force is also considered the lifeline of Houthi rebels in their struggle against the internationally recognized government in Yemen (VOA News, 2019)
How Many Members are there in Quds Force?
- It is difficult to quantify how many Quds Force Members there are
- Analysts estimate 800 core operators within a 2000 strong unit (VOA News, 2019)
- Some experts think the Quds compliment could be as high as 50,000
What Kind of Foreign Activities Does Quds Force Conduct?
Quds foreign activities include,
- Support of militias & extremist groups
- Training
- Funding and financial support
- Supply of weapons and logistics
Quds Training
Training of Quds Members and Foreign Fighters,
- Basic training is 3-9 months and takes place at three main facilities in Iran
- Imam Ali Base near Tehran, specializes in ground training for foreign fighters
- Wali-e-Assar Base in Shiraz is the second training base for Quds personnel
- “Jerusalem Operation” College in Qom, is where trainees study spirituality and ideology
- There are other smaller training facilities throughout the country that are used to train armed groups from foreign countries as well
- The Quds Force helps operate the Manzariyah training center in Iran near the holy city of Qom
- The Manzariyah training center recruits from a pool of foreign students studying at a nearby religious seminary (Counter Extremism Project, 2019)
Quds Recruitment
- Quds has recruitment offices near Islamic holy sites to attract a wide variety of devout people from many nationalities throughout the Muslim world, including Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Iraq
- The most important recruitment office is in the “Dar al-Tawahid” hotel in Mecca, Saudi Arabia
- Quds Force recruits in Iraq-Quds Forces reportedly paid Iraqi Shiites up to $150 per month to go to Iran to train during the anti-U.S. insurgency (Counter Extremism Project, 2019)
Quds Modus Operandi
Asymmetric & Unconventional Warfare Approach
- Quds can not stand toe to toe with military giants like the U.S.
- Iran lacks technological, diplomatic, and financial resources
- Quds Force has adopted a unique approach to projecting the nation’s power beyond Iran’s borders
- The Quds Force operates entirely within the shadows, supporting foreign terror groups and militias, conducting attacks and assassinations, gathering intelligence, and doing anything else Iran needs to keep hidden behind a veil of plausible deniability
- Through these activities, the Quds Force has evolved into an organisation with a wider global reach than Islamic State, supporting and funding some of the most dangerous extremist groups on the planet
- By any definition, Quds is a terrorist organisation, one which is becoming more assertive, aggressive and daring (Euronews, 2019)
- It’s important to note, however, that the Quds Force tends to advise and support rather than directly participate in these operations, granting Iran the deniability they need to avoid open war with the United States (We Are The Mighty, 2019)
- The unconventional approach has aligned Quds with likeminded terror organizations with similar extremist goals
- Organizations like Hezbollah, were even founded through Quds Force interventions
- Quds Force supports some of the most notorious and dangerous terrorist groups in the world-Their support of the Taliban-Sunni Group, signals a worrying new development in Quds Force’s modus operandi (Euronews, 2019)
Quds Forces & The United States
- The Taliban has fought side by side with Quds against American forces in Afghanistan
- Quds Force is thought to be responsible for IED attacks in Iraq that claimed the lives of hundreds of U.S. service members during combat operations
- The Quds Force was implicated in the bombings of the U.S. Embassy, annex, and Marine barracks in Beirut in 1983 and 1984
- It’s important to note, however, that the Quds Force tends to advise and support rather than directly participate in these operations, granting Iran the deniability they need to avoid open war with the United States (We Are The Mighty, 2019)
- The Quds Force has also been accused by the U.S. of plotting or carrying out terrorist attacks, directly or through its proxies, in five out of seven continents
- In 2011, the Quds Force was allegedly involved in a plan to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the US by bombing a restaurant in Georgetown (BBC, 2019)
- The Trump administration has alleged that the Quds Force is also “Iran’s primary mechanism for cultivating and supporting” US-designated terrorist groups across the Middle East – including Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement and Palestinian Islamic Jihad – by providing funding, training, weapons, and equipment (BBC, 2019)
Resources
What exactly is Iran’s shadowy Quds Force?-Alex Hollings-We Are The Mighty (2019) https://www.wearethemighty.com/history/irans-shadowy-quds-force?rebelltitem=4#rebelltitem4
Factbox: Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Rikar Hussein, Mehdi Jedinia-VOA News (2019) https://www.voanews.com/extremism-watch/factbox-irans-islamic-revolutionary-guard-corps
Profile: Iran’s Revolutionary Guards-BBC Staff-BBC News (2019) https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-47852262
Europe should call Iran’s Quds Force what it is – a terrorist organisation-Giulio Terzi di Sant’Agata-EuroNews (2019) https://www.euronews.com/2019/04/15/europe-should-call-iran-s-quds-force-what-it-is-a-terrorist-organisation-view
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)-Counter Extremism Project (2019) https://www.counterextremism.com/threat/islamic-revolutionary-guard-corps-irgc
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards-CFR.org Editors-Council on Foreign Relations-(2019) https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/irans-revolutionary-guards
Iranian Quds Force: Powerful and Secretive-Fanack.com (2019) https://fanack.com/iran/faces/the-quds-force/
