Introducing Mapping the IRGC’s Global Activity, 1979–present

Since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has been chief implementer of Iran’s militia doctrine, supported by the regime’s clerical leadership and Iran’s soft-power organisations including its foreign service, educational and cultural centres, humanitarian organisations and civil aviation. Tasked with “exporting the revolution” at home and abroad, the IRGC has been one of the main causes of instability in the Middle East, nurturing a network of radicalised militias, supporting terrorism, political assassinations and piracy, and committing gross human-rights violations.

Figure 1

Mapping the activities of the IRGC around the world since 1979

Click to view our interactive map and timeline of IRGC activity

Our interactive map shows the IRGC’s global footprint and how the Guard disseminates its ideology and supports violence at home and abroad through its own actions, its network of militias, and Tehran’s soft power organisations. We will continue to research the IRGC’s activities and populate this tool, building a  visual picture of how the IRGC undermines global peace and security.

Also in our series on the IRGC and the Hizbullahisation of the Middle East:

• The View From Tehran: Iran’s Militia Doctrine