By: Sheina Vojoudi, Associate Fellow

When we talk about the IRGC, we should separate its activities inside and outside the borders of Iran, or in other words, domestic and international terrorism, as it was intended when it was established by Ruhollah Khomeini's direct order after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Domestic terrorism

As the name of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps indicates, its creation was seen as the protection of the Islamic Revolution, and the name of Iran is not even mentioned in the title of this organization. This terrorist organization views the Iranian people as a threat to the survival of the Islamic Revolution, which it believes will continue until it conquers the entire world and seeks to keep the regime alive through organized domestic terrorism inside Iran. Domestically, the IRGC plays a central role in the violent repression of Iranian citizens, systematically suppressing protests and dissent through brutal measures. It has been involved in the killing, kidnapping, and disappearance of thousands of protesters and opposition members over the past 45 years. Its subdivisions, such as the Basij and the IRGC Intelligence Organization, are instrumental in maintaining a regime of terror within Iran.

· IRGC and its Proxies in Domestic Terrorism

Iran has witnessed numerous bloody uprisings since the Islamic Revolution. The IRGC and the Basij, the IRGC's domestic paramilitary volunteer militias, have always suppressed protests in Iran as long as they were confined to a few cities. The IRGC's regional proxies, such as Hezbollah, Hashd Al-Shaabi, and Fatemiyoun, have contributed to the suppression of nationwide protests such as the Green Revolution, the 2018 Uprising, the 2019 Bloody November Uprising, and the 2022 Woman, Life, Freedom Uprising. These proxies have been involved in regional conflicts and terrorist activities, spreading the Islamic Republic’s influence through violent means.

International Terrorism

The international terrorism of the IRGC itself is divided into two main branches, which are closely related to each other.

1. Regional Proxies

The IRGC has invested large amounts of money and energy in training its proxies in the Middle East, which began at the end of the Iran-Iraq War with a direct order from then-President Ali Khamenei to send IRGC forces to Lebanon to train the Lebanese Hezbollah. The main objective of creating the proxies under the Quds Force was to carry out the terrorist operations outside the borders without being mentioned in order to keep the name of the Islamic Republic clean and leave room for diplomacy. In the first decade of the Islamic Republic, the very existence of the Quds Force was denied. The proxy presence in the Israeli-Lebanese 1982-2000 war and the Lebanese civil wars 1975-1990, as well as the equipping and training of the Lebanese Hezbollah, should be considered among the first missions of the IRGC's overseas branch. Although the Islamic Republic tries to deny its role in recent conflicts in the region, such as the October 7 massacre, Ezzatullah Zarghami, a former IRGC officer, discussed on Iranian state television how the IRGC provides military support to resistance forces and admitted to providing military training to Hamas, including the use of rockets, and that he himself spent some time in the underground tunnels in Gaza teaching Hamas how to build rockets.

The IRGC's terrorist actions over the past four decades, especially the elimination of its opponents, have always been among the Islamic Republic's priorities around the world. The Quds Force has established several bases in Iran and even in some neighboring countries, where it provides training in terrorist and espionage operations to facilitate intelligence cooperation with the Islamic Republic's security institutions. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has its independent training bases in Iran and around the world to train its forces and proxies.

Meanwhile, some of its bases are specifically responsible for training non-Iranian forces for terrorist operations on the soil of other countries, forces selected from Iran's proxy forces in Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq, Bahrain and Afghanistan. IRGC Intelligence is responsible for the final selection.

2. Worldwide Proxies

Since the IRGC is the most powerful entity inside Iran in various fields, whether it is financial or military, the Quds Force should be considered as the intelligence executive arm of the IRGC to establish companies to evade sanctions and finance terror operatives especially in Europe and America which also leads to terror attacks. It also establishes companies that operate in various fields from shipping to import and export. In essence, the Islamic Republic has found a new way of doing business to evade sanctions through the IRGC.

Terrorist attacks, especially on European soil, by the IRGC is a very clear issue. If we want to examine it more closely, we come to Unit 400 of the Revolutionary Guards. Unit 400 of the Quds Force is responsible for carrying out terrorist operations outside Iran by hiring local criminal gangs, drug cartels and other third parties who can be considered as members of its proxies living abroad to carry out its assassination plots. The establishment of Islamic centers to gather its agents abroad under the cover of religion has been one of the achievements of the IRGC, especially in European countries such as Germany, to carry out the operations organized by the military branches of the Islamic Republic in its embassies. Most of the kidnapping and physical extortion operations in Europe, America and other parts of the world are carried out through this method of the Quds Force's Unit 400.

The Islamic Republic poses political, security, and economic threats to Europe. The Islamic Republic's extensive network of proxy forces is believed to have sleeper cells in Europe capable of carrying out terrorist attacks. In recent years, the Islamic Republic has sponsored terrorist activities and assassination plots on European soil. In 2018, European intelligence agencies foiled an Iranian plot to bomb opposition groups gathering in Paris. In 2023, German police arrested an Iranian man suspected of planning a chemical attack motivated by Islamic extremism.

Iran's nuclear program must be considered the most important threat specifically to Europe. Iran has long sought access to advanced European technology for its nuclear program. According to European intelligence agencies, much of the technology Iran has sought is classified as dual-use, it can be used for civilian purposes but also for military or nuclear weapons development.

The IRGC is the root cause of regional conflicts and exacerbates instability that directly impacts Europe, leading to the refugee crisis that has both economic and security implications for Europe. Millions of Syrian refugees have fled to Europe because of the IRGC's involvement in Syria and its support for the Assad regime. Another economic threat to Europe is the IRGC's ability to destabilize the Strait of Hormuz, through which a significant portion of Europe's oil imports pass. Disruptions to global oil supplies could affect energy prices and economic stability in Europe.

The U.S. State Department officially announced in a May 2020 report that the Islamic Republic has carried out more than 360 assassinations and terrorist operations in 40 countries over 40 years. According to the State Department, "senior Iranian officials have stated that Iran tracks and constantly monitors Iranian dissidents in other countries in order to 'crack down' and 'strike decisive blows' against them."

The 1983 bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, the 1992 Mykonos terrorist operation in Berlin, the 1994 bombing of a Jewish center in Argentina, and the 2012 bombings in Bangkok and New Delhi that killed Israeli citizens all have Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps footprints, according to documents released by security agencies in those countries. It is worth noting that the IRGC's global terror campaign is not limited to eliminating the Islamic Republic's opponents, assassinations, and bombings; these are not the only areas of IRGC terrorist activity in Europe. In recent years, this organization has planned several projects to kidnap opponents of the regime, which, although many of them failed, revealed that the terrorist operations arm of the IRGC has spread from neighboring countries to Europe. Recently, information leaked from the IRGC revealed another unit specializing in crimes abroad, Unit 700. According to the leaked information Unit 700 has extensive connections with senior officials in Iran, Syria and Lebanon. This unit was established secretly by the Quds Terrorist Corps overseas. Unit 700 provides supplies and military equipment to Quds Corps-affiliated forces in the region.

In early 2021, the U.S. government revealed that the Islamic Republic’s proxies and its operatives were actively plotting against U.S. military personnel and diplomats in the Middle East. This was not limited to the Middle East, however, and most recently, former U.S. President Donald Trump was briefed by the ODNI on suspected Iranian assassination plots. To date, the Islamic Republic has planned several plots to assassinate or harm current and former U.S. officials. These plots reflect the IRGC's strategy of using proxies and covert operations to target individuals it considers enemies.

The Islamic Republic no longer tries to hide its terrorist nature. The IRGC commanders and Islamic Republic security officials have repeatedly and proudly mentioned this widespread influence in European countries, America, and the countries of the region. Therefore, the European Parliament can push for the official designation of the IRGC as a terrorist organization, like the U.S. designation, in response to its involvement in terrorist attacks and regional instability.

Strengthening sanctions against the Islamic Republic by targeting its key sectors to limit its access to international markets and financing, including companies or countries that facilitate the Islamic Republic's arms smuggling or missile development and expanding sanctions against individuals and entities involved in human rights abuses, terrorism, and regional destabilization, such as the IRGC and its subdivisions are some of the most important steps the EP could take. The EP should crack down harder on Islamic Republic agents involved in terrorism, arms smuggling, and espionage in Europe. The European Parliament can increase its support for civil society organizations and NGOs working on human rights and democracy in Iran. Engagement with Iranian civil society, particularly the Iranian diaspora in Europe, would strengthen grassroots movements challenging the authority of the regime. The EP should recognize Iranian opposition groups in exile to gain a deeper insight into the regime's internal weaknesses and ensure that these voices are reflected in international diplomacy.

Sheina Vojoudi is an associate fellow at the Gold Institute for International Strategy, a Washington, DC-based, foreign policy and national security think tank.