The American heritage of Iran’s Special Forces

When looking at Iran’s 65th Airborne Special Force Brigade, you might notice a few striking features similar to U.S SOF units. For example, the Iranians’ yellow enlisted chevrons seem a lot like the yellow chevrons on the old Army greens. Additionally, before the Iranian Revolution, their unit insignia looked a lot like the De Oppresso […]

The Iranian commando who became an American Green Beret

The first time Changiz Lahidji joined a Special Forces unit, his loyalty was to Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran. But he found himself guarding lavish parties in the middle of the desert, protecting the opulent ruler of Imperial Iran and his guests. It wasn’t exactly the life of adventure that John Wayne movies led […]

Iran deploys Army Special Forces to Syria and Iraq

A senior commander in Iran’s Army told reporters on Mar. 23 that Special Forces would be deployed as “advisors” to Syria and Iraq. This would mark the first time that Army forces – in this case, commandos and snipers of the Rapid Response Battalions – will have operated outside Iranian borders since the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s. The Islamic Revolutionary […]