Download or read book The Pasdaran written by Emanuele Ottolenghi and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution (Sepah-e Pasdaran-e Enqelab-e Eslami) is more commonly known as Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), or the Pasadran. Sworn by an oath of loyalty to Iran's Supreme Leader, the IRGC is the regime's Praetorian Guard, the custodian of its nuclear program, and now a juggernaut in Iran's economy. Since 1979, the Guards have played a key role in protecting the Revolution internally against domestic opposition while actively seeking to export it abroad. The IRGC has been at the forefront of repression every time ordinary Iranians have protested their lack of freedoms, including after the fraudulent presidential elections of June 2009. Iran's sponsorship of terrorism abroad is also executed through the IRGC's overseas operations' branch, the Qods Forces. In The Pasdaran: Inside Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Emanuele Ottolenghi offers a detailed overview of how the IRGC came into being, how the Guards rose to a position of prominence in Iran's current power structure, how they have penetrated Iran's economy, how they are working to help Iran attain nuclear weapons, and why they will likely play a key role in Iran for decades to come.
Download or read book The Rise of the Pasdaran written by Frederic M. Wehrey and published by Rand Corporation. This book was released on 2009 with total page 153 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Examines the broad-ranging domestic roles of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, assessing its influence over Iran's political culture, economy, and society and its ability to shape the political future of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Download or read book Iran Unveiled written by Ali Alfoneh and published by AEI Press. This book was released on 2013-04-18 with total page 286 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Iran is currently experiencing the most important change in its history since the revolution of 1979 and the establishment of the Islamic Republic: The regime in Tehran, traditionally ruled by the Shia clergy, is transforming into a military dictatorship dominated by the officers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC; Sepah-e Pasdaran-e Enqelab-e Eslami). This transformation is changing not only the economy and society in Iran, but also the Islamic Republic’s relations with the United States and its allies.
Download or read book A Time to Betray written by Reza Kahlili and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2013-02-12 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A true story as exhilarating as a great spy thriller, as turbulent as today’s headlines from the Middle East, A Time to Betray reveals what no other previous CIA operative’s memoir possibly could: the inner workings of the notorious Revolutionary Guards of Iran, as witnessed by an Iranian man inside their ranks who spied for the American government. It is a human story, a chronicle of family and friendships torn apart by a terror-mongering regime, and how the adult choices of three childhood mates during the Islamic Republic yielded divisive and tragic fates. And it is the stunningly courageous account of one man’s decades-long commitment to lead a shocking double life informing on the beloved country of his birth, a place that once offered the promise of freedom and enlightenment—but instead ruled by murderous violence and spirit-crushing oppression. Reza Kahlili grew up in Tehran surrounded by his close-knit family and two spirited boyhood friends. The Iran of his youth allowed Reza to think and act freely, and even indulge a penchant for rebellious pranks in the face of the local mullahs. His political and personal freedoms flourished while he studied computer science at the University of Southern California in the 1970s. But his carefree time in America was cut short with the sudden death of his father, and Reza returned home to find a country on the cusp of change. The revolution of 1979 plunged Iran into a dark age of religious fundamentalism under the Ayatollah Khomeini, and Reza, clinging to the hope of a Persian Renaissance, joined the Revolutionary Guards, an elite force at the beck and call of the Ayatollah. But as Khomeini’s tyrannies unfolded, as his fellow countrymen turned on each other, and after the horror he witnessed inside Evin Prison, a shattered and disillusioned Reza returned to America to dangerously become “Wally,” a spy for the CIA. In the wake of an Iranian election that sparked global outrage, at a time when Iran’s nuclear program holds the world’s anxious attention, the revelations inside A Time to Betray could not be more powerful or timely. Now resigned from his secretive life to reclaim precious time with his loved ones, Reza Kahlili documents scenes from history with heart-wrenching clarity, as he supplies vital information from the Iran-Iraq War, the Marine barracks bombings in Beirut, the catastrophes of Pan Am Flight 103, the scandal of the Iran-Contra affair, and more . . . a chain of incredible events that culminates in a nation’s fight for freedom that continues to this very day.
Download or read book Neither East Nor West written by Christiane Bird and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2002-02 with total page 420 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Combining reminiscence, travelogue, history, and interviews with Iranians from all walks of life, a journey through modern-day Iran reveals a nation shrouded by misunderstanding, cultural stereotypes, and hostility.
Download or read book Iran s Revolutionary Guard written by Steven O'Hern and published by Potomac Books, Inc.. This book was released on 2012-10-31 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since the Iranian Revolution more than thirty years ago, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), also known as the Revolutionary Guard, has conducted covert and overt military operations, built an economic empire, and trained, financed, and guided terrorists to pursue one goalùthe preservation and expansion of the Islamic revolution. Inside Iran the IRGC influences the country's politics, economy, and foreign policy, and controls its nuclear program. Outside Iran the operations of the IRGC and its proxies, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and Shiite militias in Iraq, have left a trail of deathùfrom the 1983 truck bombings in Beirut that killed 241 U.S. peacekeepers and 58 French paratroopers to numerous attacks on U.S. (and allied) troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now, no longer content to strike in Iraq and Afghanistan or at targets in the Middle East and south Asia, the IRGC and Hezbollah operate throughout North and South America, developing the capability to strike the continental United States and deliver a blow to America's economy far worse than today's financial crisis. In Iran's Revolutionary Guard, Steven O'Hern reveals new information about the IRGC and Hezbollah operations inside America based on interviews with former and active members of the FBI, CIA, local law enforcement, military intelligence, and even one former Revolutionary Guard officer. The author details how the IRGC has grown into such a dangerous foe and explains how its members' activities have put the American economy and American lives at risk. His research suggests that the IRGC may be planning to explode, high above a Midwestern city, a nuclear weapon that would emit an electromagnetic pulse strong enough to render anything with a computer chip useless, including the hundreds of transformers that control the country's electrical grid. One thing is certain, according to O'Hern: the Revolutionary Guard is a serious threat to the well-being of all U.S. citizens.
Download or read book The Rise of the Pasdaran written by Frederic Wehrey and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has evolved well beyond its origins as an ideological guard for the regime. Today, in addition to wielding military force, its influence extends into virtually every corner of Iranian political life and society. Wehrey et al. assess the IRGC less as a traditional military entity and more as a domestic actor, emphasizing the variety of roles it plays in Iran's economy and political culture.
Download or read book Iran s Developing Military Capabilities written by Anthony H. Cordesman and published by CSIS. This book was released on 2005 with total page 164 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Drugs Politics written by Maziyar Ghiabi and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2019-06-20 with total page 365 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Offers new and cutting-edge research on the role of drugs in Iranian society and government. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.
Download or read book The Military in Post Revolutionary Iran written by Hesam Forozan and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2015-10-14 with total page 366 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, also known as the 'Sepah', has wielded considerable and increasing power in Iran in recent decades. Established in 1979 by Ayatollah Khomeini as a paramilitary organisation charged with protecting the nascent Islamic regime and countering the untrustworthy Imperial army (or 'Artesh'), the Sepah has evolved into one of the most powerful political, ideological, military and economic players in Iran over recent years. The Sepah is entrusted with a diverse set of indoctrination apparatus, training programmes and system welfare provisions intended to broaden support for the regime. Although established as a paramilitary organisation, the Sepah developed to have its own ministry, complex bureaucracy and diversified functions, alongside its own network and personnel. This book provides a comprehensive overview of the Sepah and its role. It examines the position of the Sepah in Iranian state and society, explores the nature of the Sepah's involvement in politics, and discusses the impact of the Sepah's political rise on Iran's economy and foreign policy. Contemporary Iran can only be fully understood by an awareness of the ongoing in-fighting among regime factions and increasing popular demands for social change – knowing about the Sepah is central to all this.
Download or read book Vanguard of the Imam written by Afshon Ostovar and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2016 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Iran's Revolutionary Guards are one of the most important forces in the Middle East today, but remain poorly understood to outside observers. In Vanguard of the Imam, Afshon Ostovar has written the first comprehensive history of the organization. Situating the rise of the Guards in the contexts of Shiite Islam, Iranian history, and international affairs, Ostovar takes a multifaceted approach in demystifying the organization and detailing its evolution since 1979. The book documents the Guards transformation into a power-player and explores why the group matters now more than ever to regional and global affairs. It is simultaneously a history of modern Iran, and an engrossing entryway into the complex world of war, politics, and identity in the Middle East"--
Download or read book Immortal Updated Edition written by Steven R. Ward and published by Georgetown University Press. This book was released on 2014-01-08 with total page 401 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Immortal, now in an updated paperback edition, is the only single-volume English-language survey of Iran’s military history. CIA analyst Steven R. Ward shows that Iran’s soldiers, from the famed “Immortals” of ancient Persia to today’s Revolutionary Guard, have demonstrated through the centuries that they should not be underestimated. This history also provides background on the nationalist, tribal, and religious heritages of the country to help readers better understand Iran and its security outlook. Drawing on a wide range of sources including declassified documents, the author gives primary focus to the modern era to relate the buildup of the military under the last Shah, its collapse during the Islamic revolution, its fortunes in the Iran-Iraq War, and its rise from the ashes to help Iran become once again a major regional military power.
Download or read book Temperature Rising written by Nader Uskowi and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2018-11-09 with total page 227 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Iran is a country at war – in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen. The founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Khomeini, always told audiences that the revolution was not about Iran, but the whole region. To establish an arc of Shia influence across the Middle East, the Islamic Republic created the Quds Force, the extraterritorial branch of its Revolutionary Guards. Hundreds of thousands of Shia youths were recruited, trained, armed, and organized in militia groups across the region. The book tells the story of how the Quds Force and its Shia militias fought on the three fronts to advance the Islamic Republic’s militant interpretation of Shia Islam and create a contiguous land corridor linking Iran through Iraq to Syria, Lebanon, and the Israeli northern fronts. The Iran-led operations are creating enormous political and security challenges for the Sunni Arabs and all regional powers, creating further instabilities in an already turbulent Middle East, with specters of direct military conflicts looming, pitting Iran against the Arab states and Israel.
Download or read book Moral Purity and Persecution in History written by Barrington Moore Jr. and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2021-09-14 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The intellectual scope and courage to contend with the largest puzzles of human existence and organization distinguish great social thinkers. Barrington Moore's Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy was a foundational work of historical sociology that influenced a generation of social scientists and, decades later, continues to be widely read and taught. Here, Moore takes up the same tools of historical comparison to investigate why groups of people kill and torture each other. His answer is arrestingly simple: people persecute those whom they perceive as polluting due to their "impure" religious, political, or economic ideas. Moore's search begins with the Old Testament's restrictions on sexual behavior, idolatry, diet, and handling unclean objects. He argues that religious authorities seeking to distinguish the ancient Hebrews from competing groups invented, along with monotheism, the association of impure things with moral failure and the violation of God's will. This allowed people to view those holding competing ideas as contaminated and, more important, contaminating. Moore moves next to the French Wars of Religion, in which Protestants and Catholics massacred each other over the control of purity, and the French Revolution, which perfected terror and secularized purity. He then combs the major Asian religions and finds--to his surprise--that violent efforts to eradicate the "impure" were largely absent before substantial Western influence. Moore's provocative conclusion is that monotheism--with its monopoly on virtue and failure to provide supernatural scapegoats--is responsible for some of the most virulent forms of intolerance and is a major cause of human nastiness and suffering. Moore does not say that the monotheist tradition was the primary source of Nazism, Stalinism, Maoism, violent Hindu fundamentalism, or ethnic cleansing in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, but he does identify it as an indispensable cause because it justified, encouraged, and spread vindictive persecution throughout the world. Once again, Moore has drawn on his comprehensive understanding of history and talent for speaking directly to readers to address one of the most crucial questions about human past and future. This book is for anyone who has ever heard the word genocide and asked why.
Download or read book Iranian Naval Forces A Tale of Two Navies written by Office of Naval Intelligence (U S ) and published by Government Printing Office. This book was released on 2017-06-21 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This updated resource provides a more comprehensive history, including: Iran's Persian imperial past, the spread of Islam, and the Iran-Iraq War The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) emphasizes an asymetric doctrine to ensure national security in the Persian Gulf against regional neighbors and foreign presence. The Islamic Republic of Iran Navy (IRIN) employs a more conventional doctrine and focuses on forward presence and naval diplomacy. Both navies have considerable equities and are well positioned to influence and leverage the Strait of Hormuz; a vital chokepoint for the flow of resources and international commerce. Illustrated with organizational charts, and photos of key Iranian leaders, including commanders within the Navy Command and Control Leadership, as well as rank insignia graphics, maps, ships, aircrafts, missile images, and more. Check out ourMiddle East resources collection for more resources on this topic. You may also be interested in ourForeign Military History collection Other products produced by theUnited States Navy
Download or read book Revolutionary Iran written by Michael Axworthy and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2016-03-10 with total page 535 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Revolutionary Iran, Michael Axworthy guides us through recent Iranian history from shortly before the 1979 Islamic revolution through the summer of 2009, when Iranians poured into the streets of Tehran by the hundreds of thousands, demanding free, democratic government. Axworthy explains how that outpouring of support for an end to tyranny in Iran paused and then moved on to other areas in the region like Egypt and Libya, leaving Iran's leadership unchanged. The Iranian Revolution of 1979 was a defining moment of the modern era. Its success unleashed a wave of Islamist fervor across the Middle East and signaled a sharp decline in the appeal of Western ideologies in the Islamic world. Axworthy takes readers through the major periods in Iranian history over the last thirty years: the overthrow of the old regime and the creation of the new one; the Iran-Iraq war; the reconstruction era following the war; the reformist wave led by Mohammed Khatami; and the present day, in which reactionaries have re-established control. Throughout, he emphasizes that the Iranian revolution was centrally important in modern history because it provided the world with a clear model of development that was not rooted in Western ideologies. Whereas the world's major revolutions of the previous two centuries had been fuelled by Western, secular ideologies, the Iranian Revolution drew its inspiration from Islam. Revolutionary Iran is both richly textured and from one of the leading authorities on the region; combining an expansive scope with the most accessible and definitive account of this epoch in all its humanity.
Download or read book Know Thine Enemy written by Edward Shirley and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-03-06 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book gives an account of Shirley's trip into Iran as a spy to provide an insight into Iranian character. It is a vivid, firsthand portrait of the clash of Western and Muslim civilizations. The book portrays Iranians in a way different from what the most Americans know about them.
