Fault Lines Emerge in the IRGC Over Syria: Khamenei Faces Growing Internal Strife
“I’ve spoken to many of the zealous youth in the IRGC, and they are furious about the failure in Syria,” a young radical told me. These divisions, largely between the older, conservative commanders and the younger, more ideological members of the IRGC, have been escalating in recent years. Many of the younger generation blame senior leaders for the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime and the collapse of key positions in Syria, viewing it as a betrayal of their efforts to defend Shia shrines and uphold the regime's ideology, according to the report made by the Jewish Chronicle.
This internal rift, largely unnoticed in the West, is now reaching a boiling point. Young IRGC members feel betrayed by senior commanders’ decisions, which they believe came too late and were poorly executed. “They made mistakes, they were slow to react, and now Syria is lost,” another radical explained, referring to the regime’s weakening control.
The divisions within the IRGC have been widening, especially after the killing of senior commanders and militia leaders by Israel, which has further alienated the younger radicals. They now accuse the senior leadership of corruption, incompetence, and even collusion with Israel's Mossad. This growing dissatisfaction led Khamenei to order the October 1 ballistic missile attack on Israel in an attempt to appease the younger radicals, but it failed to quell their anger.
With Assad's regime crumbling, the younger members of the IRGC feel that the holy Shia shrines they fought to protect are now abandoned, and they are determined to hold the senior leadership accountable. These young radicals, who were once nurtured by Khamenei to be ideologically loyal and ready to deploy in defense of Syria, now feel betrayed by what they view as the senior leadership's failure to act decisively.
The roots of this rebellion within the IRGC trace back to Khamenei’s efforts starting in 1997 to build a more ideologically radical force. Faced with loyalty issues among the second generation of the IRGC, Khamenei ramped up ideological training, ensuring that newer recruits were thoroughly indoctrinated and fiercely loyal. Over time, this led to the rise of a more extreme, radical faction within the IRGC—the fourth generation—who are passionate about defending the Shia cause, even at the cost of escalating conflicts with Israel and beyond.
However, these efforts have backfired. The very cohort Khamenei hoped to control has turned against its leaders. “They have failed us. If Haj Qassem [Soleimani] were alive, this would not have happened,” a member of the Basij militia said, referencing the IRGC’s legendary commander and their belief that he would have prevented the fall of key positions in Syria.
This discontent is particularly dangerous for Khamenei, as it is these very young radicals who play a key role in suppressing internal dissent within Iran. Their frustration with the regime's failure in Syria, combined with their growing distrust of their commanders, poses a direct threat to the stability of the IRGC and, by extension, Khamenei’s leadership.
Khamenei's grip on power is further weakened by the broader regional collapse of his imperialist ambitions. As Israel continues its strikes on Iranian positions in Syria, and the regime faces challenges in maintaining control, the pressure is mounting on Khamenei to resolve the rift within the IRGC. With the possibility of unrest both within Syria and back home in Iran, Khamenei cannot afford to alienate this critical faction of the IRGC. He must find a way to satisfy their demands or risk losing the loyalty of the very forces that have long been central to the regime’s survival.
The original author of this adapted article, Kasra Aarabi is the director for IRGC Research at United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI).
