Andy, you’re spot on. The Qods Force is under the command of the IRGC, which was formed in the wake of the Islamic Revolution to be the trusted force of the regime’s leadership. (The army was seen as permeated too deeply by the Shah’s supporters). And, in Iran, there is a long history of using these shadowy groups. In 1997, a German judicial investigation helped outline their chain of command and led to a briefr suspension of German-Iranian relationships. The 1999 assault on a student dormitory was carried out by “rogue” elements, mysteriously driving state-provided vehicles. I had gone into more detail on some of this in my first monograph which explored the history of vigilante groups and plausible deniability in the Iranian power structure.