Amin@aminhgn
Most non-Iranians hear the IRGC described in mainstream media as “Iran’s military” or a defensive force protecting the country. This is deeply misleading.
The IRGC is not the regular Iranian army. It is a separate, parallel force created in May 1979, just weeks after the Islamic Revolution by Ayatollah Khomeini through an official decree. Its written mission was never to defend Iran’s borders or serve the Iranian people. Its sole purpose from Day One was to guard the Islamic Revolution and its achievements, meaning to protect the new regime at all costs and export its ideology around the world.
This is the most important fact: Everything you see the IRGC doing today controlling the economy, crushing Persian culture, funding terrorism, repressing people, and shaping media is not something new or recent. It is not a reaction to sanctions, wars, or modern politics. It is the exact same role it was designed for in 1979. For 47 straight years, the IRGC has followed this consistent path without changing its core DNA.
From its earliest years, the IRGC was given power to seize assets and later rebuild after the Iran-Iraq War (1980s). It has steadily built a massive economic empire that now controls huge parts of oil, construction, shipping, banking, telecoms, and more. In Iran, you cannot run a real business, open a major store, become a successful influencer, file important papers, or grow anything big without the IRGC knowing - and usually without giving them a share or bribe. This total dominance over money and life started with the revolution’s “guardians” and has only grown stronger. It is why so much oil revenue goes straight to them instead of to the Iranian people.
Exporting revolution through violence was part of the plan from the start. The IRGC’s special Quds Force was created to spread influence abroad. Hezbollah in Lebanon was founded, trained, armed, and funded directly by the IRGC in 1982 - only three years after the IRGC itself was born. The same model continued with Hamas, the Houthis in Yemen, support for Syria’s dictator, and others. They use Iran’s oil money to fund these groups and keep the Middle East unstable. This is exactly why strong international sanctions were needed: the biggest share of the country’s wealth was always going to the IRGC’s terrorist network, not to help ordinary Iranians.
The IRGC was designed from the beginning to crush any opposition to the regime (using its Basij militia for internal control). It has always used the same dirty methods, including hiding military bases, weapons, and operations inside civilian areas - schools, hospitals, neighborhoods - so that any strike would kill civilians and create propaganda.
The IRGC and the regime have always seen traditional Persian culture as a threat to their ideology. Since 1979, they have worked nonstop to erase or replace ancient Iranian customs with their own version of Islam. Celebrations like Chaharshanbe Suri and Nowruz itself have faced crackdowns for decades labeled “un-Islamic” or “pagan.” In schools, we were forced to chant “Death to America” and “Death to Israel.”
But that was never our voice it was imposed on us. Many of us who grew up in that system now stand firmly with those same countries, because we’ve come to understand who truly stands with the Iranian people.
Since 1979, the revolution’s goal included shaping opinion outside Iran. The IRGC has always sent money to agents, lobbyists, fake accounts, and influencers abroad to push the fairytale story that they are just a “normal military” defending the country. If you help them, they pay very well - this influence machine has been running for nearly five decades.
When you hear about the IRGC in the news, remember: you are not seeing the Iranian nation or its proud people. You are seeing the main tool that has oppressed Iranians and spread chaos since the day it was created.