Quds Headquarters of the IRGC; The Frontline of Proxy Wars from Iran's Perspective

The Quds Headquarters of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is currently at the center of comments from Iranian military and security officials. Senior Iranian officials and commanders claim that Saudi Arabia intends to destabilize the operational area of this headquarters; southeastern Iran. But where is this headquarters located? Who is its commander? And what is its area of operation? The Quds Headquarters is not the Quds Force. When the names IRGC and Quds are mentioned, everyone thinks of the Quds Force, the external operations branch of the IRGC commanded by Major General Qassem Soleimani, whose name and the Quds Force under his command are intertwined with the wars in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and developments in Lebanon, Afghanistan, and the Palestinian-Israeli conflicts. Part of the operational area of the Quds Headquarters overlaps with the naval forces of the army and the IRGC from the border point of Gwadar at the Pakistan border to the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf. However, the Quds Headquarters is not part of the Quds Force. This headquarters is one of the operational headquarters of the IRGC's ground forces. The Quds Headquarters oversees the ground forces of the IRGC in the two provincial armies of Sistan and Baluchestan and Hormozgan. The official title of this headquarters is Quds Southeast Headquarters, and the term Southeast defines its area of operation, which is southeastern Iran, specifically the provinces of Sistan and Baluchestan and Hormozgan. The main mission of the Quds Headquarters is to prepare to confront internal and external threats in the provinces of Sistan and Baluchestan and Hormozgan. The simple meaning of this mission is that any threat to the country's security from the borders shared with Pakistan and Afghanistan in the southeast must be addressed by the Quds Headquarters, which must plan and execute responses according to the threat. The Southeast Headquarters of the army's ground forces, which is also active in this geography, has a shared mission with the Quds Headquarters in defending the eastern borders, but unlike the IRGC, the army does not have a defined mission in the realm of internal security. Another aspect of the Quds Headquarters' mission overlaps with the naval headquarters of the army and the IRGC. According to a division of labor carried out by Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic in the 1380s (2000s), the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz were designated as the area of mission and activity for the IRGC, while the area from the Strait of Hormuz to the border point of Gwadar with Pakistan in the Sea of Oman became the operational area for the army's naval forces. Accordingly, each of the naval forces of the IRGC and the army has established its own regional headquarters in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman. Given the joint activities of the naval and ground headquarters in the two provinces of Sistan and Baluchestan and Hormozgan, the Quds Headquarters of the IRGC's ground forces acts as a kind of support force for the naval headquarters in its operational area in these two provinces. In fact, in a hypothetical battle, if the naval headquarters are to be the first line of engagement, it is the Quds Headquarters that will conduct the first ground battle after them. With this premise, the Quds Headquarters has a mission from the border point of Gwadar with Pakistan to the Strait of Hormuz and the end of the borders shared by Hormozgan with Fars. The policing mission of the Quds Headquarters and engagement with armed groups: In 1392 (2013), 14 Iranian border guards were killed in clashes with an armed group, and five others were kidnapped and taken into Pakistani territory. Following this incident, senior security officials in Iran decided to assign the security of the conflict area, namely Saravan at the shared borders with Pakistan, to the IRGC, and the IRGC was tasked with securing the border and border areas instead of the police. Previously, over the past decade, the Quds Headquarters has been the center of news regarding clashes between the IRGC and armed groups that were at war against the government. These groups, under various names such as Jundallah, Jaish al-Adl, Ansar al-Furqan, and Ansar Iran, have been engaged in conflict with government military and security forces. The government labels these groups as 'terrorist' and 'foreign agents.' However, these groups reject this view, claiming they are fighting to defend the rights of Sunni or Baluch people living in Sistan and Baluchestan. Sistan and Baluchestan and proxy wars: The promotion of Brigadier General Mohammad Marani to full general is not unusual, but the presence of five senior IRGC commanders at the ceremony to confer this rank indicates special attention. In late Ordibehesht 1394 (May 2015), Ayatollah Khamenei warned in strong terms about the unrest in the Middle East, stating that if enemies bring proxy wars to Iran's borders, Tehran's reaction will be very severe. In the following weeks and months, security officials and IRGC commanders gradually defined the concept of proxy war as the efforts of Saudi Arabia and some Arab countries to destabilize areas such as Khuzestan, Kurdistan, and Sistan and Baluchestan. In this context, in recent weeks, an increasing number of Iranian officials have clearly stated that Saudi Arabia and some other countries are attempting to disrupt the security of southeastern Iran. Brigadier General Mohammad Marani, the commander of the Quds Headquarters, stated at the beginning of Shahrivar (September) that he has accurate news that Arab countries, especially Saudi Arabia, as well as Western countries, are trying to create insecurity in Iran's eastern borders. According to him, four active anti-revolutionary groups have attempted to enter the country from the eastern borders and create insecurity deep within the country. The conferment of the rank of full general to Mohammad Marani is not special attention to him personally, but rather to the Quds Headquarters, which is currently the main focus of Iran's suspicion towards Saudi Arabia. Iran and Saudi Arabia have seen increasing tensions over the past year. Previously, several high-ranking officials of the Islamic Republic, including Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, have accused Saudi Arabia of attempting to create insecurity in southeastern Iran and of supplying weapons and supporting terrorist groups in this region. Mohsen Rezaei, the former commander of the IRGC, also claimed in late Tir (July) that Saudi Arabia has established a base in Baluchistan, Pakistan, to destabilize Iran's eastern borders. Now, in the latest development regarding the increasing attention of senior Iranian officials to the Quds Headquarters, Ayatollah Khamenei last week approved the promotion of the commander of this headquarters. The promotion of Brigadier General Mohammad Marani to full general is not an unusual or special matter, as many other commanders of operational headquarters are full generals, but the fact that the ceremony to confer this rank receives special media attention and the presence of five senior commanders, including Major General Rahim Safavi, military advisor to Ayatollah Khamenei, Gholamali Rashid, commander of the Khatam al-Anbia Central Headquarters, Admiral Shamkhani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Hossein Salami, deputy commander of the IRGC, and Mohammad Pakpour, commander of the IRGC's ground forces at the ceremony indicates special attention. This special attention is not to him personally but to the Quds Headquarters, which is currently the main focus of Iran's suspicion towards Saudi Arabia. Iran and Saudi Arabia have seen increasing tensions over the past year, and now the question is gradually being heard: could the proxy wars between Riyadh and Tehran eventually lead to direct conflict between them?