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ANNEX B: IRANIAN MILITARY STRUCTURE AND DEFENCE PLANNING
Annex B
Iranian Military Structure and Defence Planning
President is Chairman of SCNS Supreme Leader
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
President Hasan Ruhani
Ministry of the Interiour Interiour Minister: Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli
Law Enforcement Forces (LEF) Commander: Brig Gen Hossein Ashtari (IRGC) Supreme Council for National Security (SCNS) Secretary: Ali Shamkhani
Armed Forces General Staff Armed Forces General Staff (AFGS) Chief: Maj Gen Mohammad Badheri (IRGC)
AFGS Deputy Chief: Brig Gen Mohammad Reza Ashtiani (Artesh) Khatemolanbia Central Headquarters (KCHQ) Chief: Maj Gen Gholam Ali Rashid (IRGC)
KCHQ Deputy Chief: Maj Gen Hassani Sadi (Artesh) Khatemolanbia Central HQ
Regular Forces (Artesh) Artesh Chief: Maj Gen Abdolrahim Musavi
Artesh Deputy Chief: Brig Gen Mohammad Hossein Dadras
Islamic Republic of Iran Ground Force (IRIGF) CDR: Brig Gen Kiomars Heidari Islamic Republic of Iran Navy (IRIN)
CDR: RAdm Hossein Khanzadi Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF)
CDR: Brig Gen Aziz Nasirzadeh Khatemolandia Air Defense Headquarters (KADHQ) Chief: Maj Gen Abdolrahim Musavi IRGC Chief: Maj Gen Hossein Salami
IRGC Deputy Chief: RAdm Ali Fadavi
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC/Sepah-e Pasdaran)
Islamic Republic of Iran Air Defence Force (IRIAF) CDR: Brig Gen Alireza Sabahi Fard IRGC Aerospace Force (IRGCASF)
CDR: Brig Gen Amir Ali Hajizadeh IRGC Navy (IRGCN)
CDR: RAdm Alireza Tangsiri
Al-Ghadir Missile Command IRGC Ground Force (IRGCF)
CDR: Brig Gen Mohammad Pakpour
CDR: Brig Gen Mahmud Bagheri Kazemabad IRGC Basij Organization of the Oppressed (BOO) CDR: Brig Gen Gholamreza Soleimani IRGC Qods Force (IRGC-QF)
CDR: Brig Gen Esmail Ghani
Figure 15: Organizational chart of key Iranian military and civilian leadership in January 2020159
Iran’s constitution sets out the distribution of power in the country. The Supreme Leader is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces with the power to declare war and peace, approve military operations, and exercise command and control (C2). When the Supreme Leader decides to use military force, he informs the Supreme Council for National Security, which alerts the Armed Forces General Staff (AFGS) and Khatemolanbia Central Headquarters (KCHQ).160 The AFGS and KCHQ pass orders to the regular military (Artesh) or the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which transmit them to respective military services’ chain of command. As demonstrated above, the AFGS technically oversees the IRGC.
The IRGC remains the main - but not the only - actor influencing and implementing Iran’s security policy. Civilian government offices, departments and agencies, including the President and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, have less influence than the IRGC over decisions in theatres where Iran’s interests are primarily in the security realm. However, these actors have more influence over decisions relating to Iran’s relations with the international community.
Like many bureaucracies, Iran’s system features a division of roles as well as overlapping authorities. Within its military, the Artesh focuses on national defence against external threats; while the mission of the IRGC is to defend the regime and its system of government from any threat, foreign or domestic. Each has their own ground, naval, air, and air defence forces, according to open-source reporting.161
Given this dual military structure divided between the Artesh and the IRGC, questions such as who has effective control over Iran’s airspace during periods of heightened alert are hard to answer definitively. Moreover, what remains unclear is not only how well both the Artesh and the IRGC coordinate among themselves but also how they interact with civil authorities such as the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development, particularly on questions of airspace management during times of crisis.
What’s the difference between the Artesh and the IRGC? The Artesh focuses on national defence while the IRGC’s priority is regime survival. The Artesh has an estimated size of 420,000 conscripts, generally serving 18-24 month assignments. The IRGC is approximately 190,000 strong and is considered the dominant military force with specialized training.
