IRGC: Revolutionizing Iran's Domestic & Foreign Influence - Research Paper

Introduction

The Islamic revolutionary guard corps (IRGC) is a branch of the Iranian army. IRGC was founded in 1979 after the Iranian Revolution by an Iranian supreme leader, Ruhollah Khomeini (Frederic & Jerrold, 2014). The organization was founded as a people's movement to safeguard the Islamic political system of the country. The Corps has revolutionized the organization into a strong domestic and foreign influence on economic and political fields. IRGC also has a strong impact in other Middle Eastern regions through their overseas operation arm, the Quds (Maher, 2018). Their activities in the area include weapon supply as well as military training to allied governments. These activities have prompted other governments such as the United States to name the Corps a foreign terrorist group, and cautioning of associations with the group.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

IRGC's ideology is protection if the country's Islamic politics. However, they oversee most military operations in the country, as opposed to the regular Iranian army, the Artesh (Hourcade, 2017). The Artesh is constitutionally obligated to protect Iranian borders and maintain law and order. IRGC has various capabilities, including a well-equipped navy and air force. The corps aims and roles are embedded in the Iranian constitution but remain only answerable to the supreme leader.

Leadership and Funding

The IRGC has a decentralized system of administration, with 31 provincial Corps, each for the 29 provinces of Iran and two for Tehran province. These provincial corps weld supreme military powers and command all troops within the provinces. Major General Hossein Salami is the commander of the organization to whom the provincial corps answer.

IRGC has gradually become a significant player in Iran's economy. It controls multimillion-dollar industries from which it draws a large share of its funding. These industries include shipping, manufacturing, imports, and exports, as well as local trade in the black market, among others. The Corps has mainly ventured into engineering and manufacturing companies. An example of such is the Khatam al-Anbia, an engineering company which employs more than 25000 IRGC members (Forozan & Shahi, 2017). This company is awarded many of Iran's construction and engineering tenders, bringing in billions of dollars for the Corps. Khatam al-Anbia is solely involved in the country's gas industry, among other mining and transportation projects. Some sources also indicate that IRGC also receives funding from Iran's foreign currency reserve. This is the currency in the country's central bank. Obtained mostly from foreign exchange and paid to the bank in foreign currency, like US dollars. In addition, the group receives an approximate of 50 percent of Iran's defense budget, totaling to around 7 billion US dollars in the 2017-2018 fiscal year (Counter Terrorism Project 2019).

The IRGC is also alleged to engage in massive black market activities. These activities are supported by the organization's vast connections and influence on the government. The commodities most traded in this illicit trade are illegal goods such as alcoholic beverages and drugs. This trade is alleged to bring in approximately 12 billion dollars in profits each year, a significant contributor to its funding (Counter Terrorism Project 2019).

Terrorist Capabilities

IRGC has a well-equipped ground navy, ground as well as ground forces, with approximately 125,000 members (Counter Terrorism Project 2019). It also has top-notch domestic surveillance activities, including drone technology and military intelligence. Its activities through its branch, the Qud, is widespread in the Middle East and other regions globally. Through its immense connections and economic superiority, the IRGC has been declared a terror threat by some countries. The Trump administration in 2019 declared the IRGC a foreign terror group, substantiating the terrorist capabilities of the organization. Through its extensive global connections and numerous revenue as well as military equipment and workforce, IRGC is well capable of launching terror attacks both in the Middle East and distant regions.

The IRGC has means and capabilities to launch an attack on the United States. They have access to unlimited intelligence and a wide array of weapons, with access to Iran's reserves of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons. The corps control an endless inventory of guns and anti-missile defenses, such as various models of the RPG and anti-tank guided missiles. They are believed to manage the stockpile of nuclear weapons dating as far back as the Second World War and which, if launched in the United States, would have devastating outcomes. The IRGC has perfected its drone technology over the years. They are allegedly to own military-grade drones that can drop nukes from heights of up to 60,000 feet (Jafri, 2018). These can be launched in the US itself or from the neighbouring regions and are undetectable on the radar. These drones can also launch biological attacks on the US. These are weaponized and highly virulent organisms, such as viruses or bacteria that are capable of wiping out entire populations or crops.

IRGC also has the capability to launch attacks by sea. These include the submarine-launched ballistic missiles whose stealth often beats the current radar detection technology. These warheads can quickly be launched to the United States from international waters.

The Hypothetical Terror Attack by IRGC on Chinatown, Manhattan

China town is one of the most populated areas of New York, with an approximate of 50, 000 people (Guzman, 2016). This makes the city an ample target of terror attacks, like one orchestrated by IRGC. It is a busy area for most of the year, and an attack on this area would not only be an insult to the American government but the Chinese too, as most of the residents are of Chinese descent (Cowen & Gilbert, 2016). A successful terror attack on china town would require months of surveillance and planning. IRGC would need to follow the following four steps to perfect their plan for such an attack (Worldview, 2012).

Target Selection

The terror group would require careful selection of a target. China town would be an ideal target due to its dense population and hence, mass casualties. The Corps would also need to consider the security of the area. With such a large population, the city has few security officers, and the chances of thwarting such an operation before it occurred are relatively low. The businesses in the area also lack sophisticated security systems, and most business owners use simple CCTV cameras that could easily be avoided by attackers. In addition, the presence of many Chinese nationals in the area would increase the impact of the attack, not only to the United States but also China and other countries. Chinatown is also ideal for the attack since it is easy to get away from the attack. The perpetrators would quickly get away by walking into the crowds.

Planning

The attackers would then need to plan the attack carefully. The group would then need to establish the most efficient method of attack. For such a densely populated area, the IRGC would require a weapon that would cause mass destruction, such as a bomb. The bomb would then be followed by random shootings. Since they are a well-financed organization with good access to specialized workforce and equipment, they would prefer a thermobaric weapon for the destruction of surrounding buildings and mass casualties. Through their extensive black market operations, the Corps would acquire the readymade bombs of bomb components. Their workforce on the ground would then assemble the weapons ready for use. Since planted and parcel bombs are easily detectable and diffusible, the group would prefer several suicide bombers. These bombers and shooters can easily be smuggled into the US under aliases.

The IRGC would prefer automatic weapons for the gunmen. These would include weapons such as light machine guns for ease of transportation to the site and for easy concealing. These guns are better preferred to their heavier counterparts, such as the heavy caliber motors, which are easily detectable (Mohamed, Abdelaty & Hassan, 2019). Five gunmen would be enough to lay a substantial impact on this operation. Each shooter equipped with an automatic rifle and several rounds of ammunition would render the attack almost inescapable for anyone in its vicinity.

The planning would also require strict timelines to enable ample time to escape for the perpetrators. The gunmen would need to be stationed in areas beyond the radius of the blast. They would then be necessary to open fire immediately after the explosion for less than five minutes. This would beat the average response time in New York of approximately six minutes to give the attackers ample time to escape.

An escape plan of the gunmen would be put in place. This would include hideouts or smuggling across the less safe routes of the United States. These include the less monitored private air travel, border, or by sea. The IRGC would arrange for the journey of these attackers back to Iran. They would split them to use different means of travel to avoid detection. This would be done after lying low for around one week of the attack to reduce the trail of law enforcement on their capture.

Deployment

The suicide bombers would be briefed and strapped with the bombs. The gunmen would also be military trained, informed, and deployed. They are equipped with secure lines of communication that would be untraceable to the intelligence forces. One such channel would be burner phones. These are unregistered and untraceable. They are trained on how to keep communication on the minimum and how to send coded messages to avoid detection by law enforcement. These bombers would then strategically place themselves in densely populated areas of Chinatown ready to attack.

Attack

This is the most coordinated stage of the attack. Coordinated blasts are set for maximum casualties. The bombers set the bombs off at the same time when the people are not alarmed. These kinds of explosions have several hundred victims, each with the destruction of structures. More casualties arise from the stampede that ensues after the blasts. The gunmen would then open random gunfire in the midst of the confusion, to instill fear, and to increase the number of casualties.

Escape

This area is relatively easy for the perpetrators to getaway. They would only need to conceal to leaving their weapons behind and escape undetected with the rest of the citizens. The gunmen would then lie low until the law enforcement trails on them run cold. They would then secretly slip out of the states through its less guarded borders, private jets, and the coastline through private vessels as arranged before the attack. Each of the IRGC men would follow the means of travel arranged for them by the organization.

Exploitation

Most terrorist organizations do not shy away from taking responsibility for their terrorist attacks. However, since the Trump administration labeled the IRGC a foreign terrorist organization, the Corps have since denied the accusation. They have termed the move as one aimed at destabilizing the Middle Eastern nation's struggling economy. Therefore, this attack in Chinatown would not be immediately owned up to. This is because the IRGC would have openly admitted to being a terrorist group. They would, however, find a way to link the attack on the United States' economic sanctions on Iran that has followed the terrorist denotation. This has since driven Iran's economy on a downward spiral due to decreasing exports in the region and to the states. Alternatively, the IRGC could pay a militia group to claim responsibility in order to dist...