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Quds Force
Founded
1988; 36 years ago (1988) as an independent force
Country
Iran
Type
Special operations force
Role
Extraterritorial operations, Unconventional warfare, Military Intelligence
Size
5,000[1]
Part of
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
Engagements
Iran–Iraq War
Soviet–Afghan War
1982 Lebanon War
Bosnian War
South Lebanon conflict (1985–2000)
War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
Battle of Herat
Balochistan conflict
Iran–PJAK conflict
Syrian Civil War
War in Iraq (2013–2017)
Northern Iraq offensive
Siege of Amirli
Liberation of Jurf Al Sakhar
Battle of Baiji
Second Battle of Tikrit
Commanders
Current commander
Brig. Gen. Esmail Qaani
Deputy Commander
Brig. Gen. Mohammad Reza Fallahzadeh[2]
Insignia
Flag
Alternative Flag
Military unit
The Quds Force (Persian: نیروی قدس, romanized: niru-ye qods, lit. 'Jerusalem Force') is one of five branches of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)[3] specializing in unconventional warfare and military intelligence operations. U.S. Army's Iraq War General Stanley McChrystal describes the Quds Force as an organization analogous to a combination of the CIA and the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) in the United States.[4] Responsible for extraterritorial operations,[5] the Quds Force supports non-state actors in many countries, including Hezbollah, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Yemeni Houthis, and Shia militias in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan.[5] According to Michael Wigginton et al., the Al-Quds Force is "a classic example of state-sponsored terrorism."[6]
The Quds Force reports directly to the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Khamenei.[7][8] After Qassem Soleimani was assassinated in a U.S. drone strike, his deputy, Esmail Ghaani, replaced him.[9] The U.S. Secretary of State designated the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Quds Force as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) in 2019 based on the IRGC's "continued support to and engagement in terrorist activity around the world." This was the first time that the U.S. ever designated another government's department as a FTO.[10]
^Cordesman & Kleiber 2007, p. 78.
^"Who Is Mohammad Reza Fallahzadeh, the New Deputy Commander of Iran's Qods Force?". The Washington Institute. Archived from the original on 28 May 2023. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
^Kamrava, Mehran, ed. (2020). "The Armed Forces in Post-revolutionary Iran". Routledge Handbook of Persian Gulf Politics. Routledge. ISBN 9780429514081.
^McChrystal, Stanley. "Iran's Deadly Puppet Master". Foreign Policy. Archived from the original on 2 June 2023. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
^ abOperational Environment Assessment (OEA) Team (April 2010). "Operational Environment Assessment: Iran". Ft. Leavenworth, KS: TRADOC Intelligence Support Activity (TRISA)-Threats, US Army. Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 July 2023. Retrieved 27 July 2023. This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Army.
^Wigginton et al. 2015, p. 153.
^Dionisi 2006, p. 7.
^"Iran demands nationals' release". BBC News. 14 January 2007. Archived from the original on 19 January 2007. Retrieved 14 February 2007.
^Cunningham, Erin; Hendrix, Steve (22 February 2020). "Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps wrestles with new reality after killing of its chief military strategist". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 7 December 2022. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
^Country Reports on Terrorism 2019 (PDF) (Report). United States Department of State. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 November 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
While the formation's official name is QudsForce (lit. 'Jerusalem Force'), it has also been referred to as the 'Quds Corps' (Persian: سپاه قدس, romanized: sepah-e...
police and the suppression of dissident gatherings. The elite QudsForce (or Jerusalem Force), sometimes described as the successor to the Shah's Imperial...
in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and commander of its QudsForce — a division primarily responsible for extraterritorial terror and clandestine...
previously commanded the IRGC Aerospace Force and the IRGC Ground Forces, and was commanding the QudsForce in Lebanon and Syria at the time of his death...
politician who is currently deputy commander of QudsForce of IRGC. Fallahzadeh served as the IRGC QudsForce's deputy for coordination affairs before taking...
assassination by the United States in 2020, he was the commander of the QudsForce, an IRGC division primarily responsible for extraterritorial and clandestine...
Iran QUD, regional airport code for Damanhur, Egypt QudsForce, a special unit of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards aiming at Al-Quds (Jerusalem). Qud, Fictional...
December 2023) was an Iranian military officer serving in the IRGC's QudsForce. He was killed by an Israeli airstrike in Sayyidah Zaynab, Rif-Dimashq...
Soleimani, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' elite QudsForce, and Imad Mughniyeh, chief of military operations for Hezbollah, oversaw...
1988, he was appointed commander of its extraterritorial special forces, QudsForce. He was the minister of defense under Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, having held...
Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi. Soleimani was commander of the QudsForce, one of five branches of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)...
of Kashmar in northeastern Iran. In 2012, it was announced that Iran's QudsForce is operating inside Syria providing the government of Bashar al-Assad...
Omidvar (Persian: حجت الله امیدوار), was an Iranian general and head of the QudsForce intelligence unit in Syria. He was killed by an Israeli airstrike during...
Aerospace force (Alternate flag) Flag of the IRGC Navy Flag of the IRGC Navy (Alternate flag) Flag of the IRGC QudsForce Flag of the IRGC QudsForce (Alternate...
Radwan Force, which was established with the assistance of the IRGC QudsForce, was integrated into the existing “Intervention Unit”. The Radwan Force was...
of conflicts involving the QudsForce, part of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The unit is a special force responsible for extraterritorial...
Agency which was later removed from its website, the deputy head of Iran's QudsForce said that it had provided combat troops to support Syrian military operations...
sites operated by the QudsForce. Logistics headquarters of the QudsForce. A military compound and logistics complex of the QudsForce in Kiswah. An Iranian...
Guards Corps. On January 20, 2020, he became the Deputy Commander of the QudsForce, by decree of the Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei. It is alleged by the American...
Su-22"in service. Anthony Cordesman, Iran's Revolutionary Guards, the Al QudsForce, and Other Intelligence and Paramilitary Forces, Center for Strategic...
Global Information
Iran
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Army.
