Overview

In that the clerical regime in Iran lacks the military capability to build advanced weaponry, it has resorted to the production of weapons and equipment that can be used for terrorist and war-mongering activities intended to advance its policy of creating crises and fueling terrorism. One such weapon, in the production and export of which the regime has invested heavily in recent years, is a variety of drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). This manuscript offers a review of the most important organs of production, use and export of UAVs by the regime, and in particular the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). In the first chapter, entitled Production of UAVs, the history of the IRGC's production of the earliest types of UAVs during the Iran-Iraq War is reviewed, after which the Quds Air Industries, affiliated with the Air Industries Organization in the Ministry of Defense, and 7 other related bodies became involved in such production. Next, the ways in which equipment is smuggled from abroad and the production of various parts are explained. A variety of UAVs used by the IRGC to ignite war and terrorism are then introduced. The second chapter, entitled Utilization of UAVs, offers a brief overview of how the IRGC has used drones historically, and outlines the various organs that employ UAVs. Among them is the UAV Command under the IRGC Aerospace Force, which has various UAV centers across Iran. It is the most important entity for training and using UAVs. Other military and law enforcement agencies that utilize UAVs are also named in this chapter. In the third chapter, entitled Using UAVs to incite war and terrorism, the utilization of UAVs for the advancement of terrorist policies and regional meddling by the IRGC's Quds Force is discussed. The Quds Force Intelligence and Training directorates have dedicated certain sections to the production as well as training and export of UAVs to other countries in the region. The IRGC's drone command center was directly involved in the attack on the Saudi Aramco oil refinery. The IRGC also continues to export drones to Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen. UAV parts are flown to these countries in IRGC planes as well as shipped through land crossings, and are subsequently assembled in the host countries. Local mercenaries from these countries receive training at IRGC Aerospace Force locations in Iran. The findings make clear that the reason for the IRGC's focus on the production and use of drones lies in the fundamental military weaknesses of the regime when it comes to modern warfare. On the other hand, the IRGC has used drones, much like its missile program, as an instrument to instigate conflict and terrorism in the region in order to keep the clerical dictatorship in power.

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9781944942465

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The Iranian development of a full-scale UAV and armed drone program represents an increased danger to U.S. troops in the Middle East. What should scare us all, is the possession of these sophisticated weapons in the hands of a regime that considers terrorism an element of its national power. The following pages describe in detail the massive investment that has gone into the Iranian drone effort. The civilized world, once again, is indebted to the MEK movement for raising the curtain on projects within Iran that are fully intended to raise havoc in the region. - Gen. James T. Conway, USMC (Ret), the 34th Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps ------------------- This report is informed by numerous sources inside Iran, primarily members of the People's Mujahedeen of Iran (MEK) who, at risk of their own lives, have worked to expose from within the true nature of the religious dictatorship that seeks to destabilize the region through force while brutally repressing its own people, the first and foremost victims of the regime. The principal strategic value of UAVs to the regime is best understood in the broader geostrategic context. Having lost all legitimacy at home, the regime sees its very survival as a function of its ability to export its influence and ideology outside of Iran. Drones, like ballistic missiles, serve this purpose by providing a means of intimidation and attack. Today, the mullahs' desperation is palpable - we can see it in the calls across Iran for an end to the intolerant and corrupt regime. Policies of appeasement must be rejected as they will only serve to prolong the life of the regime, its external aggression and its domestic brutality. - Ambassador Robert Joseph, Ph.D., Former Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security

Author Information

National Council of Resistance of Iran-US Representative Office acts as the Washington office for Iran's Parliament-in-exile, NCRI, which is dedicated to the establishment of a democratic, secular, non-nuclear republic in Iran.NCRI-US, registered as a non-profit tax-exempt organization, has been instrumental in exposing many nuclear sites of Iran, including the sites in Natanz, and Arak, the biological and chemical weapons program of Iran, as well as its ambitious ballistic missile program.NCRI-US has also exposed the terrorist network of the Iranian regime, including its involvement in the bombing of Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia, the Jewish Community Center in Argentina, its fueling of sectarian violence in Iraq and Syria, and its malign activities in other parts of the Middle East.

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