THE ROLE OF INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES IN IRAN'S PROXY ACTOR STRATEGY: THE CASE OF THE QUDS FORCE

Abstract

As different disciplines of social sciences potently assert the fundamental changes in the nature of international relations, non-traditional actors of power-struggle take their presence in studies that focus on evaluating this contemporary transformation. Concordantly, Iran’s adaptation to the transformation of international-setting and acts towards creating non-traditional/proxy actor networks through its intelligence communities for expanding its sphere of influence and achieving its regional strategic goals lay the argumentation basis of this study. The study investigates the role of the Quds Force, a branch of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, in constructing and maintaining Iran's proxy network. In aforementioned context, it concludes that the Quds Force functionalizes its capabilities in intelligence gathering, guerrilla warfare, and covert operations to provide financial resources, military training, and guidance to proxy actors.

Keywords

• Quds Force
• Proxy Actor
• Intelligence
• Iran

İRAN’IN VEKİL AKTÖR STRATEJİSİNDE İSTİHBARAT ÖRGÜTLERİNİN ROLÜ: KUDÜS GÜCÜ ÖRNEĞİ

Abstract

Sosyal bilimlerin farklı disiplinleri uluslararası ilişkilerin doğasındaki köklü değişimleri güçlü bir şekilde savunurken, güç mücadelesinin geleneksel olmayan aktörleri de bu çağdaş dönüşümü değerlendirmeye odaklı çalışmalarda yerlerini almaktadırlar. Buna paralel olarak, İran'ın uluslararası ortamın dönüşümüne uyum sağlamak, etki alanını genişletmek ve bölgesel stratejik hedeflerine ulaşmak için istihbarat toplulukları aracılığıyla geleneksel olmayan/vekil aktör ağları oluşturmaya yönelik eylemleri bu çalışmanın temel argümanını oluşturmaktadır. Çalışma, İran Devrim Muhafızları'nın bir kolu olan Kudüs Gücü'nün İran'ın vekil ağının inşası ve sürdürülmesindeki rolünü incelemektedir. Bu bağlamda, Kudüs Gücü'nün istihbarat toplama, gerilla savaşı ve örtülü operasyonlardaki kabiliyetlerini vekil aktörlere finansal kaynak, askeri eğitim ve rehberlik sağlamak için işlevselleştirdiği sonucuna varılmaktadır.

Keywords

• İran
• Kudüs Gücü
• Vekil Aktör
• İstihbarat

References

1. Alfoneh, A. (2013). Iran Unveiled: How the Revolutionary Guards Is Turning Theocracy into Military Dictatorship. Washington, D.C.: The AEI Press.
2. Andrew Mumford. (2013). Proxy Warfare and the Future of Conflict. The RUSI Journal, 158(2), 40-46. DOI: 10.1080/03071847.2013.787733.
3. Avcı, S. (2021). İran'ın Stratejik Kültüründe Vekalet ve Hibrit Savaşlar. Uluslararası Kriz ve Siyaset Araştırmaları Dergisi, C5.S2, 634-667.
4. Baraa Al-Shammari. (n.d.). A Houthi delegation secretly visits Baghdad and meets the leaders of the "mobilization". Retrieved from https://www.alaraby.co.uk/%D9%88%D9%81%D8%AF-%D9%85%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AD%D9%88%D8%AB%D9%8A%D9%8A%D9%86-%D9%8A%D8%B2%D9%88%D8%B1-%D8%A8%D8%BA%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%AF-%D8%B3%D8%B1%D9%91%D8%A7%D9%8B-%D9%88%D9%8A%D9%84%D8%AA%D9%82%D9%8A-%D9%82%D8%A7%D8%AF%D8%A9-%22%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AD%D8%B4%D8%AF%22
5. Barsimantov, Y. (1984). The strategy of war by proxy. Cooperation and Conflict, 19(4), 263-273.
6. BBC. (2014, June 13). Iraq conflict: Shia cleric Sistani issues call to arms. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-27834462
7. CIA. (1987). Beirut is a terrorist center. Retrieved from https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp97r00694r000700030001-0
8. Byman, D. (2005). Deadly Connections. New York, NY: Cambridge Üniversitesi Yayınları.

9. Fishman, B., & Felter, J. (2012). Iranian Strategy in Iraq – Politics and Other Means. In F. W. Kagan, et al. (Eds.), Iranian Influence in the Levant, Egypt, Iraq, and Afghanistan (pp. 62-63). Washington: American Enterprise Institute.
10. Hazran, Y. (2010). The Rise of Politicized Shi’ite Religiosity and the Territorial State in Iraq and Lebanon. The Middle East Journal, 64(4), 521-541.
11. Helman, G. B., & Ratner, S. R. (1992). Saving failed states. Foreign policy, 89, 3-20.
12. Hughes, G. A. (2014). Syrian and the Perils of Proxy Warfare. Small Wars & Insurgencies, 25(3), 522-538.
13. Institute for the Study of War/American Enterprise Institute. (2012). Iranian Influence in the Levant, Egypt, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Joint Report. Washington, DC.
14. Jonah Jeremy Bob. (2017, June 20). IDF chief: Iran's strike on ISIS not as impressive as they claimed. The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved from https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/idf-chief-irans-strike-on-isis-not-as-impressive-as-they-claimed-497455
15. Jones, S. G., Thompson, N., & Ngo, et al. (n.d.). The Iranian and Houthi War against Saudi Arabia. CSIS Briefs. Retrieved from https://csis-website-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/publication/211221_Jones_IranianHouthi_SaudiArabia.pdf?VersionId=fn1d98tAhj7yOUr.IncppMueLOC4kv83
16. Juneau, T. (2016). Iran's policy towards the Houthis in Yemen: a limited return on a modest investment. International Affairs, 92(3), 647-663.
17. Kadri, A., & Matar, L. (2019). Syria: From National Independence to Proxy War. Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan.
18. Kagan, F. W., Majidyar, A. K., Pletka, D., & Sullivan, M. C. (Eds.). (n.d.). Iranian Influence in the Levant, Egypt, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Washington: American Enterprise Institute.
19. Katzman, K. (2017). Iran's foreign and defense policies. Congressional Research Service, Washington, United States.
20. Keddie, N. R., & Gasiorowski, M. J. (Eds.). (1990). Neither East nor West: Iran, the Soviet Union, and the United States. Yale University Press.
21. Kılıç, M., Gök, M., & Keskin, G. F. (2018). Kuruluşundan Günümüze Irak'ın Şii Milis Gücü Haşdi Şabi. Uluslararası Beşeri ve Sosyal Bilimler İnceleme Dergisi, 2(1), 46-63.
22. Levitt, M. (2005). Hezbollah: The Global Footprint of Lebanon's Party of God. Washington: Georgetown University Press.
23. Levitt, M. (2021). Hezbollah's regional activities in support of Iran's proxy networks. Middle East Institute.
24. Levitt, M. (2013, January). Hizballah and the Quds Force in Iran's Shadow War with the West. The Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
25. Mack, A. (1975). Why Big Nations Lose Small Wars: The Politics of Asymmetric Conflict. World Politics, 27(2), 175-200.
26. Maher, F. (n.d.). Warning Update: Iran's Hybrid Warfare in Yemen. Critical Threats. Retrieved from https://www.criticalthreats.org/analysis/warning-update-irans-hybrid-warfare-in-yemen
27. Mariano, R. (n.d.). The Iranian Intelligence Services Through the Lenses of the Institutional and Bureaucratic Models. Retrieved from https://www.academia.edu/34863648/The_Iranian_Intelligence_Services_Through_the_Lenses_of_the_Institutional_and_Bureaucratic_models
28. McInnis, J. M. (2017, February). Iranian Concepts of Warfare: Understanding Tehran's Evolving Military Doctrines. American Enterprise Institute.
29. Menachem, Y. B. (2021). Iran's Man in Yemen Is a Revolutionary Guard Officer. Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. Retrieved from https://jcpa.org/irans-man-in-yemen-is-a-revolutionary-guard-officer/
30. Dinçer, M. (2020). İran'ın Irak Dış Politikasının İnsandan-İnsana Yüzü Kasım Süleymani. Journal of Political Administrative and Local Studies, C3.S2, 123.
31. Uskowi, N. (2018). Temperature Rising Iran's Revolutionary Guards and Wars in the Middle East. Washington, DC: Rowman & Littlefield.
32. Nour News. (n.d.). The evolution of Ansarullah's military-weapons capability. Retrieved from https://nournews.ir/En/News/57163/The-evolution-of-Ansarullah%E2%80%99s-military-weapons-capability
33. Combating Terrorism Center. (2008, October 13). Occasional Paper Series. West Point.
34. ORYX. (n.d.). Houthi Drone And Missile Handbook. Retrieved from https://www.oryxspioenkop.com/2019/09/houthi-drone-and-missile-handbook.html
35. Ostovar, A. (2016). Vanguard of the Imam: Religion, Politics, and Iran's Revolutionary Guards. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
36. Qassem, N. (2005). Hizbullah: The Story from Within. (D. Khalil, Çev.). London: SAQI Publications.
37. Rauta, V. (2020). Proxy Warfare and the Future of Conflict: Take Two. RUSI Journal.
38. Reisinezhad, A. (2020). Iran's Geopolitical Strategy in West Asia: Containment of Geography and History. Iranian Review of Foreign Affairs, 11(1), 59-88.
39. Wright, R. (1989). In The Name Of God: The Khomeini Decade. New York: Simon & Schuster.
40. Samuel, A. T. (2022). The Unfinished History of the Iran-Iraq War: Faith, Firepower, and Iran's Revolutionary Guards. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
41. Seliktar, O., & Rezaei, F. (2020). Iran, Revolution, and Proxy Wars. Springer International Publishing.
42. Sozer, B. (2016). Development of Proxy Relationships: A Case Study of the Lebanese Civil War. Small Wars & Insurgencies, 27(4), 636-658.
43. Suechika, K. (2018). Strategies, Dynamics, and Outcomes of Hezbollah's Military Intervention in the Syrian Conflict. Asian Journal of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, 12(1), 89-98.
44. The Library of Congress. (2012). Iran's Ministry of Intelligence And Security: A Profile. Library of Congress Federal Research Division. Retrieved from https://irp.fas.org/world/iran/mois-loc.pdf
45. Tokmajyan, A. (2014). Hezbollah's Military Intervention in Syria: Political Choice or Religious Obligation? Approaching Religion, 4(2), 105-112.
46. Vatanka, A. (2018). Iran's use of Shi'i Militant Proxies: Ideological and Practical Expediency Versus Uncertain Sustainability. Middle East Institute, June.
47. Vazirian, A. H. (2021). The Advisory Forces of the Islamic Revolution and Transformation of Iran's Regional Policy in 2003-2020. Scientific Journal of Security Horizons, 13(49), 55-84.
48. Wigginton, M., Burton, R., Jensen, C., McElreath, D., Mallory, S., & Doss, D. A. (2015). Al-Qods Force: Iran's Weapon of Choice to Export Terrorism. Journal of Policing, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism, 10(2), 153-165.
49. Wikileaks. (2009, November 16). Saudi Strikes In Yemen: An Invitation to Iran—and The U.S.? Retrieved from https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/09SANAA2070_a.html
50. Zalayat, I. (2019). Realpolitik and Jihad: The Iranian Use of Shiite Militias in Syria. Digest of Middle East Studies, 28(2), 296-328.