The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) – also referred to as Sepah from its name in Persian (Sepāh-e Pāsdārān-e Enqelâb-e Eslâmī, literally ‘Army of Guardians of the Islamic Revolution’) – is a parallel military force tasked with defending the regime against internal and external threats. In practice, it is the primary tool that the Islamic Republic regime leadership uses to exert control over the country and remain in power.
Watch our video to learn more about how it is organized and who runs it: