The Constitution of the Islamic Republic entrusted the defense of Homeland’s territorial integrity and political independence to the regular military (artesh), while it gave the Pasdaran the responsibility of preserving the Revolution itself.Days after Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s return toCapital on February 1, 1979, Mehdi Bazargan’s interim administration established the Pasdaran under a decree issued by Khomeini on May 5. The Pasdaran was intended to protect the revolution and to assist the ruling clerics in the day-to-day enforcement of the new government’s Islamic codes and morality.