History UsefulNotes / PersiansWithPistols

* In ''Series/SEALTeam'' Season 3 episode 3, the "Armenian militia" that takes over the power plant in [[UsefulNotes/RepublicOfArtsakh Nagorno-Karabakh]] actually turns out to be a unit of Iranian Qods Force commandos who are [[PlausibleDeniability wearing unmarked uniforms and passing themselves off as mercenaries.]] Episode 8 of that same season features the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps hunting an F-35 pilot who was shot down over the Iran-Iraq border on the Iranian side.

* ''[[{{VideoGame/ARMA}} [=ArmA=] III]]'' features an Iranian-centric military alliance as one of its three factions.

The last major war Iran has fought is the Iran-Iraq War. It was a very bloody war which eventually ended with no gains for either side, but it had a profound effect on Iranians, who lost up to 1,000,000 people in the war. The Iranians used ChildSoldiers, though the use of children in the military was illegal under Iranian law. Iranian religious fervor and nationalism were very intense during the war, in some cases resulting in children being used in waves to clear minefields, being told they would be martyrs and go straight to heaven.

Nowdays, many people accuse Iran's government of attempting to build nuclear weapons, though Iran, of course, vehemently denies this.

The Iranian Armed Forces consists of the Artesh (regular army), the Sepah (the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps or IRGC) and the Police.

* They are a playable faction in the ''Empire Divided'' expansion for ''VideoGame/TotalWarRomeII'' , and ''VideoGame/TotalWarAttila'''.

* They are a playable faction in ''VideoGame/TotalWarRomeII'''s ''Empire Divided'' expansion, and ''VideoGame/TotalWarAttila'''.

* In ''Series/SEALTeam'' Season 3 episode 3, the "Armenian militia" that takes over the power plant in [[UsefulNotes/RepublicOfArtsakh Nagorno-Karabakh]] actually turns out to be a unit of Iranian Qods Force commandos who are [[PlausibleDeniability wearing unmarked uniforms and passing themselves off as mercenaries.]]

* In ''Series/SEALTeam'' Season 3 episode 4, the "Armenian militia" that takes over the power plant in [[UsefulNotes/RepublicOfArtsakh Nagorno-Karabakh]] actually turns out to be a unit of Iranian Qods Force commandos who are [[PlausibleDeniability wearing unmarked uniforms and passing themselves off as mercenaries.]]

* ''VideoGame/{{Battlefield 3}}'' takes place across Iran, besides Paris and ''[[{{Main/BigApplesauce}} New York City]]''. In singleplayer, you fight the PLR, an Iranian paramilitary group, lead by Faruk Al-Bashir. The ''actual'' Iranian Military [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse never show up and what happened to them is never brought up.]]

For centuries later, Iran was ruled by Arabs and then by a succession of lesser Iranian and Turkish kingdoms until the rise of the next Iranian empire under the Safavids. The Safavid army was originally centered on the Qizilbash Turkmen who brought the dynasty to power. Later on, the Shah added musketeers and artillery in order to keep up with the Neighboring OttomanEmpire, to whom the Safavids were frequently TheRival. The collapse of the Safavids led to disorder which eventually caused Iran's territory to shrink to its current borders.

For centuries later, Iran was ruled by Arabs and then by a succession of lesser Iranian and Turkish kingdoms until the rise of the next Iranian empire under the Safavids. The Safavid army was originally centered on the Qizilbash Turkmen which brought the dynasty to power. Later on, the Shah added musketeers and artillery in order to keep up with the Ottomans. The collapse of the Safavids led to disorder which eventually caused Iran's territory to shrink to its current borders.

* ''VideoGame/SplinterCellBlacklist'' features several encounters with [[ElitesAreMoreGlamorous Qods Force commandos]], including a later mission which takes place in the heart of Qods Force headquarters in Tehran.

The Sassanid dynasty from Persia replaced the Parthians in AD 224. The Sassanids were known for their elite heavy cavalry, the Savaran. They were TheRival to TheRomanEmpire, and after a particularly exhausting war with Rome they were conquered by the Arabs.

The Achaemenid Empire was conquered by AlexanderTheGreat, but a few decades later the Parthians, an Iranian tribe originating in what is now Turkmenistan, revolted against Greek rule and eventually conquered the Iranian plateau and Mesopotamia. The Parthian army was based on a one-two punch of horse archers and heavy cavalry.

* ''VideoGame/SplinterCell: Blacklist'' features several encounters with [[ElitesAreMoreGlamorous Qods Force commandos]], including a later mission which takes place in the heart of Qods Force headquarters in Tehran.

* ''VideoGame/Battlefield3'' takes place across Iran, besides Paris and ''[[{{Main/BigApplesauce}} New York City]]''. In singleplayer, you fight the PLR, an Iranian paramilitary group, lead by Faruk Al-Bashir. The ''actual'' Iranian Military [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse never show up and what happened to them is never brought up.]]

* ''VideoGame/Battlefield3'' takes place across Iran, besides Paris and ''[[{{Main/BigApplesauce}} New York City]]''. In singleplayer, you fight the PLR, an Iranian paramilitary group, lead by Faruk Al-Bashir.

The last major war Iran has fought is the Iran-Iraq War. It was a very bloody war which eventually ended with no gains for either side, but it had a profound effect on Iranians, who lost up to 1,000,000 people in the war. The Iranians used ChildSoldiers, though the use of children in the military was illegal under Iranian law. Iranian religious fervor and nationalism were very intense during the war, in some cases resulting in volunteers absurdly charging into minefields in order to clear paths for other soldiers.

* ''VideoGame/SplinterCell: Blacklist'' features several encounters with [[ElitesAreMoreGlamorous Qods Force commandos]], including a later mission which takes place in the heart of Qods Force headquarters in Tehran.

* ''VideoGame/SplinterCell: Blacklist'' has a squad of [[ElitesAreMoreGlamorous Qods Force commandos]] featured in one mission attempting to kill a high-value target that Sam is trying to escort to safety.

* [[{{VideoGame/ARMA}} [=ArmA=] III]] features an Iranian-centric military alliance as one of its three factions.

* ''Series/{{JAG}}'': In "The Black Jet", Harm and Mac stages a jailbreak of downed pilot Keeter from an Iranian prison, and is chased by the Iranian Army to the location of the not-crashed airplane.

* The Iranian Army is a playable side in ''[[VideoGame/GraviteamTactics Graviteam Tactics: Shield of the Prophet]]'', where it fights the Soviet Army over control of western Afghanistan.

* Iranian Army divisions participate in the ''VideoGame/GraviteamTactics'' campaign ''Shield of the Prophet'' in Afghanistan in 1979, against the Soviet Army.

The last major war Iran has fought is the Iran-Iraq war. It was a very bloody war which eventually ended with no gains for either side, but it had a profound effect on Iranians, who lost up to 1,000,000 people in the war. The Iranians used ChildSoldiers, though the use of children in the military was illegal under Iranian law. Iranian religious fervor and nationalism were very intense during the war, in some cases resulting in volunteers absurdly charging into minefields in order to clear paths for other soldiers.

Also see {{UsefulNotes/Iran}}.

The last major war Iran has fought is the Iran-Iraq war. It was a very bloody war which eventually ended with no gains for either side, but it had a profound effect on Iranians, who lost up to 1,000,000 people in the war. Both sides used ChildSoldiers, though the use of children in the military was illegal under Iranian law. Iranian religious fervor and nationalism were very intense during the war, in some cases resulting in volunteers absurdly charging into minefields in order to clear paths for other soldiers.

After the Iranian revolution, the new authorities established the Revolutionary Guards and the Basij, both of which primarily deal with internal security. The Revolutionary Guards are more of an army within an army (they have their own navy and air force) while the Basij are a paramilitary militia under nominal control of the Revolutionary Guards. Iran also developed its domestic arms industry after the revolution, as it found itself diplomatically isolated.

In western works, Iran's military usually serves as a generic Middle Eastern antagonist, being almost a textbook example of an AcceptableTarget.