Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has been responsible for protecting Iran’s revolutionary regime from both domestic and international threats since the 1979 revolution. As part of its mission, IRGC soldiers have been deployed to support Shiites in neighboring countries. However, deployment of the IRGC abroad has the potential to create security dilemmas, precipitate economic sanctions, and lead to other problems that compromise national interests. How have the Iranian people viewed the deployment of IRGC soldiers abroad, which is fraught with such paradoxes? In Iran, where speech is strictly controlled, it has been difficult to accurately gauge public opinion toward the IRGC, an organization that symbolizes the regime itself.

By conducting a unique survey experiment, we attempt to overcome the problem of “social desirability bias.” The results show that only about 35% of respondents across Iran support the IRGC’s deployment abroad, and that the difference in approval/disapproval is strongest and most significant among respondents with different attitudes toward the U.S. compared with factors such as support for the regime, religious beliefs, or economic status. This suggests a different view from the conventional wisdom regarding Iran’s foreign policy, which has often been characterized by irrationality based on support for the revolutionary regime or adherence to religious ideology.