33rd Al-Mahdi Division (, named after the twelfth

Shia Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...

Imam Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...

Al-Mahdi Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Manṣūr (; 744 or 745 – 785), better known by his regnal name al-Mahdī (, "He who is guided by God"), was the third Abbasid Caliph who reigned from 775 to his death in 785. He succeeded his ...

) was a

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military unit, military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute ...

of the

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), also known as the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, is a multi-service primary branch of the Islamic Republic of Iran Armed Forces, Iranian Armed Forces. It was officially established by Ruhollah Khom ...

. It was established on 24 February 1982 before

Operation Fath ol-Mobin Operation Fath-ol-Mobin (, a Quranic phrase meaning "Undeniable Victory" or "Manifest Victory") was a major Iranian military operation conducted during the Iran–Iraq War, in March 1982 and resulted to the Battle of Shush. The operation was le ...

in the

Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War, also known as the First Gulf War, was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. Active hostilities began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for nearly eight years, unti ...

, with Ali Fazli as its commander. It was part of the 7th Fajr Division for some time during the war. After Operation Beit ol-Moqaddas, there was some reform in the structure of the brigade, and Mohammad Jaafar Asadi was made as the commander, and remained the commander of the unit until the end of the war. On 24 April 1983 the brigade was separated from the 19th Fajr Division and became part of the newly founded 7th Corps. The brigade was turned into the 33rd Al-Mahdi Division () after the successful

Operation Dawn 8 The First Battle of al-Faw was a battle of the Iran–Iraq War, fought on the al-Faw peninsula between 10 February and 10 March 1986. The Iranian operation is considered to be one of Iran's greatest achievements in the Iran–Iraq War. The Ira ...

. After Iraqi's adoption of new defensive tactics in 1986, Iran begin creating new "Qaem" units, and the independent 326th Qaem Unit of Fars () was founded on 25 May 1986 under command of Abdol-Ali Najafi, which were consisted of forces from the 33rd Division. It was stationed in Haj Omran area in the Shahid Sadr Highlands. It also participated in Operation Karbala-2. It was later merged with the Al-Mahdi Division. After the Iran-Iraq war, Al-Mahdi Division was separated into two units: 33rd Al-Mahdi Airborne Brigade () under command of Hojjatollah Azarpeykan, stationed in

Jahrom County Jahrom County () is in Fars province, Iran. Its capital is the city of Jahrom. History After the 2006 National Census, the village of Duzeh was elevated to the status of a city. In 2019, Khafr District was separated from the county in t ...

Fars province Fars Province or Pars Province, also known as Persis or Farsistan (فارسستان), is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. Its capital is the city of Shiraz. Pars province has an area of 122,400 km2 and is located in Iran's southwest, i ...

; and 3rd Ansar-ol-Hojjat Brigade (), as part of 19th Fajr Division, under command of Abdol-Ali Najafi stationed in Fasa County, Fars province. 33rd Al-Mahdi Airborne Brigade has been active in

Iran–PJAK conflict The Iran–PJAK conflict is an armed conflict between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Kurdish rebels of the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), which began in 2004. The group has carried out numerous attacks in the Kurdistan Province of Iran ...

References

{{Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Military units and formations of Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution Airborne units and formations of Iran