Prepared by: Bahram Esfahani / Special to Geostrategic Studies Network
Terrorism as an obsolete but still indispensable tool is still used by the Iranian government. Although these methods may seem old and worn out, they are considered necessary to maintain the survival of the regime, especially under the leadership of Khamenei.
During this investigative research, we will shed light on very important information about the Iranian regime’s activities in supporting armed groups in the Middle East.
The activities of the Iranian government are not limited to the interior of the country, but also extend to the international level, where terrorism is used as a tool to suppress opponents and achieve political goals.
In this context, multiple reports have been issued by media outlets and security agencies in various countries detailing and exposing these activities.
One of the reliable sources, the Washington Post, previously provided a documented report revealing the Iranian government’s use of criminal gangs and drug trafficking to kill and kidnap its opponents around the world.
In this report, which was prepared based on interviews with 15 Western security officials, it was noted that this trend has increased in recent years. The Iranian government is constantly seeking to target government officials in other countries, activists and journalists, especially on American soil. The report also pointed out the Iranian government's extensive use of proxy forces and the payment of hundreds of thousands of dollars to criminal gangs to carry out plans to kill opponents.
The latest example of this was the Vice President of the European Parliament, Alejo Vidal-Quadras from Spain, who narrowly escaped certain death, as the Spanish security services discovered the Iranian regime's involvement in this attempt and are investigating it.
In addition, Iranian state terrorism has infiltrated the territories of various countries. In recent months, various media outlets around the world have published reports on Iranian state terrorism in Turkey, Georgia, and others.
In another recent report, CNN reported, citing informed sources, that the United States had received information about an Iranian plot to assassinate former US President Donald Trump.
In the same context, on July 24, 2024, German police launched a large-scale raid on the Islamic Center in Hamburg, which is known as a center for exporting terrorism and extremism to the mullahs' regime. This operation included searching 53 locations in various cities in Germany, including Hamburg, Bremen, Berlin, and others.
The German Interior Ministry announced that this center represents the direct agent of the Iranian regime's Supreme Leader and was regularly and forcefully implementing the instructions for exporting the "Islamic Revolution". All the properties and assets of these centers were confiscated, and their activities were banned. German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser stressed in a press release that this measure is part of the fight against Islamic extremism and support for Hezbollah terrorists.
Iranian state terrorism is not only manifested in the form of killing and kidnapping opponents around the world, but also in supporting proxy forces and militias in the region. These activities are part of the Iranian government's expansionist and interventionist policies in the region. This report will go into more detail about these interventions and expansionist policies in the region.
Exposing the training camps of terrorists affiliated with the International Guard Corps for foreign fighters inside Iran to export terrorism:
The following information was collected and documented by the social network of the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (PMOI / MEK) inside Iran. This information was published by the National Council of Resistance of Iran - US Representative Office.
According to detailed reports from within the Iranian government, the mullahs’ Revolutionary Guards have set up a large office in their extraterritorial arm (the Quds Force) to expand their training to include foreign mercenaries as part of the regime’s strategy to increase its influence.
The review was conducted in the field of foreign intervention, including in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Bahrain, Afghanistan and elsewhere, under the supervision of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who, according to a senior advisor to the IRGC commander and former IRGC commander, Brigadier General Khosrow Awwaj, personally encouraged its establishment during a recent visit to the Quds Force.
Intelligence reports collected by various sources for the PMOI network from within IRGC units, especially the Quds Force, indicate that this office contains dozens of training camps throughout Iran. The camps are divided according to the nationality of the trainees and the type of training.
Both terrorist training and military training are provided to militias, enabling them to better infiltrate and advance the regime’s regional goals. Every month, hundreds of forces from Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan and Lebanon – countries where the regime is engaged in front-line battles – receive military training and are later sent to wage terrorism and war.
Smaller groups have also been trained in other countries to carry out terrorist acts, and the rate of training of foreign mercenaries in camps controlled by the IRGC in the Quds Force has increased.
General Information:
The Quds Force Training Office is an important part of the Quds Force. In the communications of the IRGC, the code name for the Quds Force Training Office is 12000. This headquarters is located in the Imam Ali military base, 20 km from the Tehran-Karaj highway.
Organization and Command:
Brigadier General Khosrow Orouj was previously the commander of the IRGC in Lebanon, where he had a close relationship with Hezbollah in Lebanon. He participated in the 33-day war in Lebanon and was a friend of Imad Mughniyeh, a senior member of Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah.
In an interview in November 2016, Brigadier General Khosrow Orouj said: ... When Khamenei visited the Quds Force, the only unit he encouraged was the training unit. His statements emphasize Khamenei's close relationship with terrorist educational initiatives, as well as Khamenei's reliance on the IRGC to advance the regime's agenda and goals.
A senior Quds Force commander runs the Training Department, meaning he is solely responsible for managing its affairs. The inspector is Masih Mohammadi. The intelligence protection commander for Colonel Bakhtiari is the IRGC.
Imam Ali Base Training Process: It is one of the main educational centers. There are two types of training: primary education, which is short-term, usually only about 45 days, because the goal of this system, especially for Syrian mercenaries, is to use them in military actions similar to those of the Basij. There is also full military training with specialized courses for those who are permanently employed by the Quds Force. Terrorism training courses are also held.
This takes about 9 and sometimes up to 12 months to complete. - Terrorism training in addition to forces trained for military action as part of the regime's general intervention in the region.
The Quds Force terrorist units are also trained in separate and secret units and sent to various countries in the Gulf region, Asia, Africa and Latin America. People trained for terrorist operations are kept separately and in isolation.
They have a separate wing within the Imam Ali Garrison with a capacity of between 10 and 100 people. In most cases, terrorists are trained in two-person teams that are no longer in contact with other two-person units. In recent years, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has returned a number of agents from Latin America, including Venezuela, Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia, to the Third Imam Ali Barracks for training, leaving them in the hands of the Quds Force.
These people have been kept in isolation and their presence and identity have been completely secret. The training commander of these forces is Colonel Tahmsibi. Training in Imam Ali Barracks: All those forces that will be trained are initially under a bodybuilding camp for a week.
The bodybuilding group is an educational department whose commander is the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps named Mollaei. After that, specialized training courses are provided in other training centers of the Quds Force. At the end of this period, all the forces will return to the Imam Ali Barracks, where the final exam and approval process will be conducted. In fact, the final work is done in these barracks.
- Different sections of the Imam Ali Garrison Education Department
1. Specialized training for heavy weapons: The commander of this distinguished section with the code name 320 is Colonel Ali Mohammad. It has 3 subsections: drones, missiles, heavy weapons, and heavy weapons maintenance.
2. Missile launch training: This course consists of two parts, theoretical and practical. The theoretical training section is conducted with the help of simulators. After completing primary school, the troops go to Semnan base to receive practical missile launch training.
3. Naval training
4. Paratrooper training
5. VIP security training (also known as "protocol").
The commander of this department is Colonel Ramaki, who is from AMOL in northern Iran. - The combination of training units in recent years is the largest group trained in the Imam Ali Garrison from Syria and in some cases it may have up to 230 trainees in each session. In addition, the Iraqi Quds Force (Shiite militias) go to the barracks to receive them.
The IRGC mercenaries are first sent to the center to learn theoretical courses in promoting fundamentalism and terrorism, and then they are sent to other centers for practical training. This site was previously the headquarters of the Quds Force Training Department and was used for practical training of terrorists. However, after its exposure, it was divided into two parts, one for the Imam Ali Garrison (mentioned above) and the other for the Bandeh Center in Varamin (mentioned below). Address of Imam Ali Academy: Alborz Street in Tajrash, Saadabad Province, north of Tehran, north of Saad Abad Palace. Bandeh Center in Varamin - Urban training for urban warfare and guerrilla warfare training, including riding motorcycles for terrorist operations, are provided at this center.
Driving courses and various vehicle maneuvers are also provided. One of these trainings is related to the release of hostages and is conducted inside buildings designated for learning and training.
The commander of this center is one of the IRGC commanders named Ebrahimi. This center is located 30 km south of Varamin in the Siah Kouh area. The center is considered to be in a protected area of the IRGC forces adjacent to a number of secret IRGC sites. Part of the Quds Education Administration was transferred to this area after being transferred from the former Imam Ali Garrison site (in the north of Tajrish). This site is codenamed 950. This part of the administration mainly focuses on providing training in terrorist and urban guerrilla warfare. Malek Ashtar Camp in Amol - Survival Training One of the Quds Force training centers is located in the Esko neighborhood of Amol on the road from Imamzadeh Hashem in Mazandaran Province. Here, trainees take courses on how to survive in the harsh conditions of the desert. Semnan Center - Practical missile training for firing rockets, including Katyusha rockets and Flag missiles, etc. For example, a number of Iraqi forces went to the base in 2014 to learn how to use a variety of rockets, including Katyushas. Semnan is the main center for the regime's missiles and is a site for missile tests by the IRGC. This week, it also displayed its missiles on the site. Mashhad Center - Focus on training Afghan forces In this training center in Mashhad (northeastern Iran), which is defined by Law 4000, forces, mostly Afghans, are trained in groups of 300 people. This center is affiliated with Ansar.
The Quds Force is responsible for eastern Iran and Afghanistan. Pazooki Barracks - Focus on Afghan forces to send to Syria This Quds barracks is located in Varamin (southeast of Tehran) near the village of Jalilabad. In each training session, 200 Afghans are trained to settle in Syria. Infantry training includes: Kalashnikov, machine guns, mortars, tactics, snipers, etc. All trainers are from the IRGC (Revolutionary Guards) and the Quds Force. After completing military training, trainees are assigned to the Fatemiyoun Division.
200 to 300 fighters are sent to Syria every week. The barracks are located next to the IRGC Jalilabad base and are an outgrowth. Seyyed Mostafa Hosseini, commander of the Quds Force, commands Pazooki. Lowshan Garrison - The special training of this garrison is located near the city of Mangil on the border of Lowshan. The IRGC has a large training base in this area called the Imam Khomeini Base. Part of the base was given to the Quds Force. Chamran Barracks - Focused on Afghan forces that will be sent to Syria This garrison is located 5 kilometers from the Jalilabad garrison in the city of Pishfa, southeast of Tehran.
At least 100 people participate in each training session, Mos.
The places described above are representative examples of only a part of the IRGC sites associated with the IRGC's intervention activities in other countries in the region in recent years. The IRGC operates dozens of similar bases and camps, especially near the Iranian-Iraqi border, to intervene in Iraqi affairs.
They are not mentioned in this report.
As it was revealed during the investigation of these places, all the centers and barracks of the IRGC were allocated to this force to train mercenaries and foreign fighters. In addition to the Quds Force, other branches of the IRGC, including the Ground Forces, Marines, and Missile Unit, contribute to the regime’s regional intervention, committing their forces, resources, and weapons to ensure the regime’s terrorist operations and plans to advance their agenda. Regional and expansionist war is being realized. The scale of the IRGC’s casualties during the wars in Syria and Iraq clearly confirms this point. The Quds Force is an integral part of the IRGC, and the distinction between the IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) and the Quds Force is without reason.
The Iranian regime is the source of this chapter to whitewash the crimes committed by the IRGC and its role in terrorism and interference throughout the Middle East and beyond.
In 1990, the Quds Force was established. Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Badr Brigade in Iraq, and other terrorist organizations affiliated with the Iranian regime were established even before the Quds Force was established. The IRGC was directly responsible for establishing these terrorist organizations.
In fact, the Badr Brigade was originally and officially the military branch of the IRGC Ground Forces and participated in various operations. The Quds Force is part of the IRGC. Neither the Iranian constitution nor the budget mentions the Quds Force as a separate organization.
The Quds Force is a military organization consisting of units and divisions of the IRGC, as well as mercenary fighters trained by the IRGC. In other words, the Quds Force is not an independent entity and lacks independent war forces. For example, those identified as Quds Force units in Syria are actually a brigade from the 19th Brigade of the IRGC, based in Shiraz.
This brigade has been stationed in Syria for the past two years. Other elements of the Quds Force in Syria are mercenary forces from other countries. Currently, the IRGC as a whole is involved in the wars in Syria and Iraq.
The main force of the fighter is the IRGC. The victims are mainly the commanders of various units of the IRGC Ground Forces, which makes it clear that the IRGC in general, as well as its forces in various provinces, are involved in war and terrorism in different countries. Likewise, the IRGC naval and missile units are involved in this.
It is the IRGC that provides financial assistance, trains and weapons to terrorist groups such as Hezbollah, Asa al-Haqq and Qutb in Iraq. In essence, the IRGC is a pillar that maintains the ruling religious dictatorship in Iran by engaging in internal repression, foreign terrorism, nuclear weapons and missile production.
With regard to the domestic scene, the IRGC has four duties:
1) The ground forces have turned into regional powers in order to prevent popular uprisings.
2) It has established the Khatam al-Anfi garrison and its affiliates to control the country's economy.
3) Through the IRGC Intelligence Office and its electronic army and Basij, the IRGC controls social networks and arrests social media users.
4) The IRGC, through its counter-espionage office, controls the regime's officials and personnel, and even arrests TH.
Location by 14 Army Training Corps around Iran 9 Location by 8 Military Training Guidance Corps in Tehran 10 Imam Ali Barracks IRGC Mission for intimidation and camping to threaten to be foreign citizens 11 Imam Ali Academy of the IRGC For theoretical training of camping because foreigners are present in the north with false wages for the palace, Alborz Street in Tajrish, north of Tehran, mercenaries of the mullahs' regime are first sent to this center of fundamentalism and terrorism, and then they are sent to other centers because it was a practice of training in this place, and it was used before because of the practice of teaching, but in the future it was exposed to war and terrorist training of the regime.
The special training camp of the Guards Forces The presence of a foreign national team of the Guards Forces has to live near every side of the city by Mangel, and approach every side of the city on behalf of Lushan; A. Share this garrison. They are trained in Syria and are assigned to the Fatimid Army.
Infantry training includes:
Kalashnikov, machine guns, mortars, tactics, snipers, etc. All trainers are from the Iranian Guard Corps and the Quds Force. 14 Urban warfare and guidance training camp of Barack Irgc is provided by foreign citizens from urban warfare and guidance, to the extent of using them in motorcycles to be guidance for operations.
Driving training and various maneuvering courses with vehicles are also training courses. And also one of them in this center is an exercise related to the empty side of the hostages, and the transfer of the movable is inside the buildings, because learning and training every aspect of the commander is from this Ibrahimi center.
Representation office. Additional information is available in the case at the Department of Justice, Washington, DC.
In recent years, with the expansion of the IRGC's terrorist activities in the Gulf, the Sea of Oman and the Red Sea, the Quds Force has increased its activities in the maritime domain, and in this regard, it has recruited mercenary forces in regional countries and then sent them to Iran in order to establish terrorist naval units for terrorist acts against ships and maritime targets in the region.
For this purpose, a number of mercenaries of the Quds Force from Yemen, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Africa were sent to their countries after attending specialized naval training courses in Iran and began to form naval units.
Thus, the naval units established by the Quds Force in Yemen in particular are carrying out maritime terrorist acts.
