The following information provides background on the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and Quds Force.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was formed by former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini in the aftermath of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The Quds Force is part of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and is responsible for extraterritorial operations, including terrorist operations.

A primary focus for the Quds Force is training Islamic fundamentalist terrorist groups. The Quds Force conducts training activities in Iran and in Sudan.

The Quds Force is accused of furnishing militias in Iraq with IEDs (improvised explosive devices) and shipping weapons to Hezbollah, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Iran’s president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is a former Revolutionary Guard. Ahmadinejad served in the Guard Corps’ intelligence and security apparatus. He was a senior officer in the Special Brigade of the Revolutionary Guards.

Ahmadinejad became one of the Quds Force’s senior commanders upon its formation within the Guard Corps.