In a statement to mark the 40th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps vowed that it would continue to “develop” its missile program and “aid the resistance front and Islamic states” without “any regard for the conspiracies of the enemy”.
The statement was carried by the IRGC affiliated Tasnim news agency.
Calling the IRGC “the children of the Iranian people”, the statement said in part:
“With a deep awareness of the conditions and requirements for the advance of the revolution and the progress of the country, by considering the commands of the Supreme Leader and Commander-in-Chief Ayatollah Khamenei, we reassure revolutionary Iranians that we will continue serving the people and playing a role in the development of the country, and along with other armed forces, without any regard for the evil demands of arrogant powers, based on strategic intellect in the framework of the defense policy of the Islamic Republic and in line with imminent threats, we will continue our unrelenting strategy of developing missile capabilities to promote national strength… as well as aiding the resistance front and responding to the demands and needs of Islamic states and Islamic nations. We will not for one moment contemplate neglect, retreat or negotiations on this issue.”
The statement went on to list the Islamic Republic’s “achievements” and its “brilliant report card” in the past 40 years including bringing “independence, institutionalized freedom, religious democracy, power, security, national dignity and national identity” to Iran.
The IRGC
Espousing a radical ideology and a paranoid worldview, the IRGC uses secret police methods against its opponents within Iran, and terrorist tactics against its enemies abroad.
According to experts, the IRGC is “the spine of the current political structure and a major player in the Iranian economy.”
They dominate social, cultural, political, and economic life, protecting the government from internal rather than external opponents.
The IRGC gives military support to Hezbollah and Hamas, organizations that the US and EU have both designated as terrorist groups.
A string of senior officers of the IRGC and its Quds force are already blacklisted and subject to US sanctions.
The Corps also has a large stake in the Iranian economy, both in legal and illegal enterprises. Guard commanders own large swaths of real estate in Tehran and are involved in lucrative cross-border smuggling operations.
Underground ballistic missile factory
The IRGC’s top commanders recently disclosed information about an “underground ballistic missile factory,” in Iran the state owned news agency ISNA reported.
During their visit to the factory on Thursday February 7, IRGC Commander-in-Chief Mohamad Ali Jafari and Aerospace Force Commander Amir Hajizadeh, displayed an “intelligent surface to Surface ballistic missile” codenamed Dezful to the press.
Jafari said during the visit that IRGC Aerospace Force has started “mass production” of this “intelligent precision missile.”
The IRGC Commander in Chief nicknamed the missile factory as a “missile manufacturing city,” adding that the factory’s products are Iran’s answer to the “Westerners who believe they can limit our capabilities and long-term ambitions with sanctions.”
“The Europeans who outrageously talk about limiting our defense capabilities use their own offensive power to attack helpless people in various parts of the world,” adding that “Iran’s defense power is a deterrent that protects our national interests and we will not make any compromise about them, nor we would start any negotiation about the missiles,” Jafari said.
He added that the IRGC was “proud to be promoting their defense capabilities without fearing anything.”
