What is the IRGC and why does it matter?: The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is Iran's ideological military force, founded in 1979. It controls 10-20% of Iran's economy, runs proxy networks across the Middle East, and since 2026 has emerged as the dominant governing authority in Tehran, having installed the Supreme Leader and blocked the elected president.
What is the IRGC Decentralised Mosaic Defence doctrine?: Activated on 28 February 2026 after senior commanders were killed, it restructured the IRGC into 31 autonomous provincial units, each able to operate without central command. It has proven resilient to 9,000+ US and Israeli strikes, sustaining 70+ waves of Operation True Promise 4.Source: event
How does the IRGC control the Strait of Hormuz?: The IRGC operates a toll system charging $1 per barrel in yuan or stablecoins, with VLCCs paying roughly $2 million per transit. It enforces through drone and missile strikes and has published mine charts turning any reopening into an IRGC-controlled corridor. It declared on 12 April the strait will never return to its previous status.Source: Lloyd's List Intelligence / IRGC
Is the IRGC running Iran's government?: Effectively yes. The IRGC installed Mojtaba Khamenei as Supreme Leader, locked President Pezeshkian out of state communication systems, and ignored his Ceasefire orders. Jerusalem Post sources described the Guards as controlling Khamenei, not the other way around.Source: Jerusalem Post
How many IRGC commanders has Israel killed in 2026?: At least three senior commanders were killed in a single week: Ground Forces chief Mohammad Pakpour on 28 February, Navy Commander Admiral Tangsiri, and intelligence chief Behnam Rezaei. The Mosaic Defence doctrine was designed to sustain operations despite exactly this kind of Decapitation campaign.
What is the IRGC and how does it control the Strait of Hormuz?: The IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) is Iran's ideological military. It controls the northern coast of the Strait of Hormuz and operates a tolling system charging $1 per barrel or $2 million per VLCC. It has 31 autonomous provincial units running a Decentralised Mosaic Defence that resists command decapitation.Source: event
Did the IRGC end its ceasefire cooperation?: On 24 April 2026 the IRGC formally declared 'our self-restraint has come to an end', describing itself as at 'peak readiness' and warning neighbouring countries hosting US forces. CENTCOM's vessel seizure count reached 38 by 27 April.Source: event
Who controls Iran's military after the IRGC commanders were killed?: Major General Ahmad Vahidi consolidated operational control of both Iran's military posture and its negotiating delegation by 22 April 2026, sidelining Foreign Minister Araghchi. The IRGC operates via 31 autonomous provincial units under the Decentralised Mosaic Defence even after losing three senior commanders.Source: event
Which IRGC-linked companies did OFAC sanction in May 2026?: On 11 May 2026, OFAC designated nine entities and three individuals in the Economic Fury round. The standout was Universal Fortune Trading LLC, a Dubai company directly linked to the National Iranian Oil Company. Four Hong Kong shells were also designated as the intermediary layer between UAE logistics firms and Asian buyers.Source: OFAC

Background

Founded in May 1979 to protect Iran's revolutionary system, the IRGC expanded over four decades from ideological guardian to economic empire, controlling an estimated 10-20% of Iran's GDP through construction, energy, and banking conglomerates. Its Quds Force ran proxy networks across Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, and Gaza; its Basij paramilitary controlled domestic dissent. When US-Israeli strikes began on 28 February 2026, it activated a pre-planned Decentralised Mosaic Defence, devolving launch authority to 31 autonomous provincial units to prevent command decapitation.

The IRGC sustained 70+ waves of Operation True Promise 4 through late March despite losing its Navy Commander Admiral Tangsiri, intelligence chief Behnam Rezaei, and Ground Forces chief Mohammad Pakpour to Israeli strikes in a single week. By 12 April it declared the Strait of Hormuz will "never return to its previous status" and operated a functioning customs authority charging $1 per barrel in yuan or stablecoins, with five-tier country classification and VLCC transits at roughly $2 million per vessel. Major General Ahmad Vahidi consolidated operational control of both Iran's military posture and its negotiating delegation by 22 April, sidelining Foreign Minister Araghchi: the corps reversed the Foreign Ministry's Hormuz reopening announcement within hours on 17-18 April, then seized three vessels the following week.

On 24 April 2026, the IRGC issued a formal statement declaring "our self-restraint has come to an end". On 3 May, in direct response to the Project Freedom announcement, it set a 30-day ultimatum demanding the US end its port blockade of Iran or face escalation to a full Hormuz closure. Iran's Majlis National Security Commission simultaneously ruled that Project Freedom constituted a Ceasefire violation. The IRGC also declared that 60% of its small-boat fleet had survived the US-Israeli strike campaign and was on standby — the first public accounting of its naval attrition rate. On 11 May 2026, OFAC's Economic Fury round designated three IRGC-linked individuals and nine entities, including Universal Fortune Trading LLC — a Dubai company directly linked to the National Iranian Oil Company and the most structurally significant shell in the round. The designation illustrated the IRGC's continuing reliance on UAE and Hong Kong corporate layers to move sanctioned crude. With Khamenei communicating only through couriered handwritten notes, the IRGC remains the only functioning decision-making authority in Iran.