Artesh is the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran, founded in 1979 in the aftermath of Ayatollah Khomeini's Iranian Revolution. They fought in the consolidation of the Iranian Revolution, Iran-Iraq War, and Iraq War.
History[]
The Artesh was founded in 1979 in the aftermath of Ayatollah Khomeini's Iranian Revolution, and took part in the consolidation of the new Islamic Republic of Iran in the aftermath. The first Iranian Army was created in 1923, but the new Artesh proved to be superior, using United States-made weapons (taken over from Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi's army after the revolution) in combat. In September 1980, they fought their first war when Ba'athist Iraq invaded to start the Iran-Iraq War, supported by the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution (Pasdaran, IRGC). The Artesh proved to be a tenacious force, as shown in their liberation and defense of Khorramshahr in 1982, two years after giving the Iraqis a hard fight during their capture of the city in 1980. The Artesh today have 700,000 troops, with 300,000 reservists.