{"id":329243,"date":"2025-03-06T16:11:26","date_gmt":"2025-03-06T15:11:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=329243"},"modified":"2025-03-06T17:15:56","modified_gmt":"2025-03-06T16:15:56","slug":"irans-untouchable-irgc-how-khameneis-private-military-elite-profits-while-presidents-clash-and-fall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/economy\/irans-untouchable-irgc-how-khameneis-private-military-elite-profits-while-presidents-clash-and-fall\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran\u2019s Untouchable IRGC: Khamenei\u2019s Private Military"},"content":{"rendered":"
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From left to right, IRGC Quds Force commander Esmail Qaani, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces Mohammad Bagheri, and IRGC commander-in-chief Hossein Salami displaying obedience and subservience to the Iranian regime\u2019s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Four-minute read<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps<\/a> (IRGC) was initially established as a paramilitary force to safeguard the doctrine of the Supreme Leader. However, its primary function quickly evolved into something far more insidious: the exportation of Khomeinist fundamentalism under the guise of revolution. Over the decades, the IRGC has transformed into Iran’s most powerful political, military, and economic entity<\/a>, a shadow state operating beyond the reach of any governmental institution. Its economic stranglehold extends into oil, construction, telecommunications, and, most lucratively, illicit smuggling operations. While the regime\u2019s presidents, regardless of faction, have occasionally dared to challenge the IRGC\u2019s dominance, to safeguard their own fate and interests, every such attempt has ended in failure. The IRGC\u2019s economic empire is not just a source of corruption; it is the primary mechanism that has gutted Iran\u2019s formal economy while enriching a military elite loyal only to the Supreme Leader.<\/p>\n

Despite his history of demonstrating loyalty to the regime\u2019s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, President Masoud Pezeshkian recently made a statement that, for the first time in his political career, directly challenged the deep-seated economic corruption of the IRGC.<\/p>\n

On March 8, 2025, Pezeshkian, who was trying to dodge responsibility for his economic failures, acknowledged the staggering scale of fuel smuggling in Iran, stating<\/a>, \u201cTwenty million liters of diesel are being smuggled every single day. Such a volume cannot be transported manually or in small barrels; this requires a vast logistical network, and this must be stopped.\u201d This was not just an acknowledgment of Iran\u2019s smuggling crisis\u2014it was an implicit, albeit cautious, attack on the IRGC, the very entity controlling the illegal trade. However, even in this statement, Pezeshkian stopped short of naming the perpetrators, illustrating the untouchability of the IRGC.<\/p>\n

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#Iran<\/a> : 7 March 2017 Press Conference to Expose #IRGC<\/a>'s Illicit Piers https:\/\/t.co\/0vxzaJjD9G<\/a> #irgc_terrorist<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/XhaSD2lroD<\/a><\/p>\n

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) March 6, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n