Iranian Armed Forces

Main article: Iran

The Armed Forces (Armed Forces) of the Islamic Republic of Iran include the regular army and the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. According to a report by the US Department of Defense Intelligence Agency (RUMO), published in November 2019, as of August of the same year, the IRGC consisted of 190 thousand people. The number of the regular army is 420 thousand people. In wartime, the total number of Armed Forces allows an increase of another 1 million people^[1] the^[2].

Iran considers the United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia to be its main enemies, which dispute the current claims of the Islamic Republic to the status of a regional power in the Middle East.

After the Islamic revolution, following which power in secular Iran passed to the local Shiites in February 1979, led by Ayatollah Seyid Ruhollah Mostafavi Mousavi Khomeini, the country fell under US sanctions, and the supply of military equipment, which partially contributed to the external stability of the regime, was seen in cooperation with the USSR (Russia), China, North Korea, Belarus and Ukraine.

The southern coast of the Islamic Republic from the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman are protected by diesel-electric submarines of Soviet (Russian) and North Korean origin, numerous combat boats with anti-ship missiles and torpedoes, as well as minefields. Although the US Navy is orders of magnitude superior to the capabilities of the Iranian "mosquito fleet," a direct collision of them less than 300 kilometers off the coast of Iran will lead Washington to much greater financial and reputational losses than Tehran.

Among other weapons that Iran can use in the event of hostilities with the United States, first of all, it is worth noting the Favorit S-300 anti-aircraft missile system purchased from Russia and its Iranian counterparts created on its basis, as well as various versions of the Fateh-110 mobile missile with a range of about 300 kilometers.

The Islamic Republic was able to establish the production of numerous attack drones, which in the event of a potential conflict can cause serious trouble to the enemy only through a massive attack.

It is worth noting the good abilities of Iran in the field of electronic warfare (EW), largely due to cooperation with Russia, as well as the largest network of protected underground fortifications in the Middle East, which can keep intact not only the infrastructure for ballistic missile launches, but also the life of the country's leadership.

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)

Main article: Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)

2024

New Iranian drone is Shahed-238 capable of intercepting the most powerful American drones

In early August 2024, the technical characteristics of the Iranian kamikaze drone Shahed-238 equipped with a jet engine became known. This device is capable of intercepting the most powerful American drones. Read more here.

Growth of highly enriched uranium reserves

In May 2024, Iran increased its stockpile of uranium close to weapons. Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium has risen 17% in the past three months.

By October 2024, Iran, cornered and in even greater danger, could accelerate its nuclear powers and begin building nuclear weapons.

Tehran may decide that nuclear weapons are now the best form of defense.

In November 2024, Iran said it would increase the number of centrifuges in its nuclear program in response to censure from the U.N. Nuclear Energy Supervisory Board, ratcheting up tensions with the West just days after it signaled a willingness to ease them.

The reason for this was the IAEA's rebuke of Tehran's inability to solve the problem with uranium particles found in undeclared places, the statement said.

Iran has informed the IAEA of plans to install more centrifuges to enrich uranium at its Fordow and Natanz plants, as well as commissioning newly installed machines there.

The report, however, does not mention Iran's enrichment of uranium to 60% purity, close to 90% weapons-grade, which may indicate a relatively cautious approach by Iran preparing for upcoming talks with Britain, France and Germany in Geneva aimed at resuming dialogue with the West.

The allocation of 3 billion euros to increase the protection of Iran's borders

Iranian Deputy Interior Minister Said Majeed Ahmadi said at the end of April 2024 that by decree of the Iranian President, an amount equivalent to 3 billion euros was allocated to the General Staff of the country's Armed Forces to increase the protection of Iranian borders.

The sharp increase in funding is associated with the increasing raids of gangs on the positions of IRGC troops, in particular - in the turbulent province of Sistan and Balochistan.

In the last couple of months alone, militants of the so-called Baloch group Jaish al-Adl have carried out more than a dozen attacks in various settlements. And for shelter, they use uncontrolled sections of the borders with Pakistan.

The cross-border operation is too risky, as the recent escalation between the countries has shown.

Comparison of the military power of Iran and Israel

As of April 2024

Iranian drone shipments to Syria and Yemen

Iran He has close military ties with, and Syria. Iraq Yemen There is some cooperation in this area with,,,,, Afghanistan,, Belarus,, China,, Oman,, Russia,, REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA,,,,, and Venezuela. Azerbaijan Bolivia India Italy Kazakhstan Lebanon Pakistan Qatar Tanzania Turkey Turkmenistan

Pro-Iranian armed formations in the Middle East at the beginning of 2024

More advanced and invisible Iranian drones in 2024 radically change the conduct of wars.

Countries from Asia Central to South America create their own "killer" technologies based on Iranian developments - often using American components.

2023

Defense spending - 2.2% of GDP

Estimating some countries' defense costs as a share of their GDP in 2023

"Tanker war" between Iran and the United States

In early May 2023, the Iranian IRGC naval forces detained the oil tanker Niovi, operating under the flag of Panama, while passing the Strait of Hormuz. The Iranian Prosecutor General's Office reported that the arrest was made on the basis of a court order.

IRGC boats approached the ship and forced the tanker to change course towards the territorial waters of Iran, most likely to the port of Bandar Abbas. Initially, the oil ship followed from Dubai to another port of the UAE - El Fujairu.

At the same time, the tanker was chartered for the purpose of transporting petroleum products for the United States.

Mutual attacks by both the American fleet and the Iranian on cargo or merchant ships are at this time a completely common thing in the waters of the Persian and Oman bays. As a rule, the actions of the Iranians are symmetrical to their opponents.

On April 27, the 5th operational fleet of the US Navy reported that Iranian servicemen detained the Advantage Sweet tanker, chartered by the American company Chevron and operating under the flag of the Marshall Islands.

The oil on it was intended for American consumers and went straight from Kuwait. And the arrest itself was the response of the Islamic Republic to the confiscation by the American authorities of Iranian energy resources from the tanker Suez Rajan, captured on the way to China.

The arrest of Niovi occurred exactly after the "mysterious" explosion on the Pablo tanker operating under the flag of Gabon, off the coast of Indonesia. The ship was bound for the Strait of Malacca from China, and was previously seen in hidden overloads of Iranian oil to circumvent sanctions.

According to open sources, there was no oil on Pablo. The Indonesian coast guard rescued 25 of the 28 sailors. And here the rather fair question arises: how then did the explosion happen? There is still no official answer, and it is unlikely to be.

What is the main cause of the conflict over tankers?

The Iranians have adapted perfectly to the shadow trade in petroleum products, using hundreds of different tankers chartered by shell companies under the flags of different countries. Iran's methods are quite simple, but significantly help in delivering energy resources to their destination. For obvious reasons, this does not suit the US authorities, since in fact it makes the sanctions policy ineffective.

The detention of ships, even simply suspected of participating in bypass schemes, is standard practice, although not to say that this really creates a help in the fight against the "shadow" Iranian fleet.

Tankers both transported Iranian oil and continue to do so, the Rybar channel wrote.

2022

Successful modernization of aviation weapons

The conflict in Ukraine in 2022 revealed problems in the Russian system of construction of the armed forces. Modernization programs for old products often either failed or did not lead to improved performance.

Against this background, Iran contrasts, whose military-industrial complex was able to qualitatively increase the combat potential of the armed forces without mass purchases of imported expensive weapons systems. As noted by the Rybar channel, this is clearly visible on the example of aviation.

What exactly did the Iranians do?

In the context of sanctions pressure and a limited budget, the country followed the path of significantly expanding the capabilities of old equipment. Thus, outdated Su-22, F-4 or F-7 aircraft were equipped with guided Yasin precision bombs of their own production. The nomenclature of manufactured shells has expanded significantly.

The main variants of Iranian planning bombs are the Balaban with a range of up to 25 km, as well as the Yasin-1000 Yasin-2000 with a range of 50 km. They are equipped with combat units of 100, 225, 300, 450 and 925 kilograms.

Also, the military-industrial complex of the Islamic Republic launched the Yasin-1000ER and Yasin-500ER modifications with a range of about 150 and 200 km, respectively, into mass production. Guidance occurs through inertial and satellite navigation systems. In 2022, local engineers are working on the introduction of an active homing head in the Yasin family bombs.

What does Iran's example say?

The products of the Iranian military-industrial complex clearly demonstrate the possibility of a significant increase in the combat potential of the products due to rational modernization.

The focus on expansion and serial production of the high-precision ammunition nomenclature allowed the 1970s aircraft to be brought to a more or less modern level.

The declared range of destruction of gliding bombs of 50 + kilometers theoretically allows the old F-4 or Su-22 to point strikes with bombs on objects at a considerable distance from the enemy air defense detection areas.

Iranian Navy receives new drones with 2,000 km range

On November 22, 2022, the commander of the Iranian naval forces, Rear Admiral Shahram Irani, announced that new attack helicopters and long-range unmanned aerial vehicles were being adopted. Read more here.

The creation of the first hypersonic ballistic missile in Iran

Iran has created the first hypersonic ballistic missile. This was announced in November 2022 by the commanders of the military space forces of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Amir Ali Hajizadeh.

According to him, the new missile was created to counter air defense systems and is capable of "passing through all missile defense systems."

Iran has created the first hypersonic ballistic missile

{{quote 'The rocket has high speed and can maneuver in the atmosphere and beyond. It will target advanced enemy anti-missile systems and is a big leap in missile development. I do not think that in decades any technology that can resist it will be found, "the general said. }} The detailed characteristics of the missile by November 10, 2022 are kept secret, but the fact that it belongs to hypersonic weapons says that the missile is capable of flying in the atmosphere at a hypersonic speed that exceeds the speed of sound by at least 5 times, and maneuver using aerodynamic forces. The main advantages of such missiles include enormous speed, which makes interception a very difficult, and often impossible task.

According to Arab News, so far there have been no reports of tests. However, if the information is confirmed, it will be a click on the nose of the United States, which themselves are unsuccessfully trying to create hypersonic weapons.

The idea of ​ ​ creating such weapons appeared during the Second World War. By November 2022, several states have missiles capable of flying at hypersonic speed. Russia and China are considered leaders.

Russia is considered one of the leaders in the development of hypersonic weapons. Back in 2018, our country presented the Avangard, Dagger and Zircon missiles. And in June 2021, President Vladimir Putin announced that Avangard and Dagger had already been put on combat duty in the Russian Federation.^[3]

Exercises near the borders of Azerbaijan to prevent anexia of the Zangezur corridor

From October 17 to October 19, 2022, the exercises of the ground forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) under the conditional name "Mighty Iran" were held in the provinces of East Azerbaijan and Ardabil in northwestern Iran.

During the training, various scenarios for the development of events, including a full-scale armed conflict, were worked out. For the first time in practice, IRGC units crossed the Araks River, which separates Iran and Azerbaijan.

In the exercise, the IRGC servicemen used the launchers of the Fateh missile systems, MLRS HM20, Fajr-3 and Fajr-5, 155-mm HM41 howitzers, Gvozdika self-propelled guns, T-72S tanks , BMP-2, Mi-171 helicopters, Bell 214A and AH-1J, as well as various UAVs.

On October 22, in the province of West Azerbaijan, on the border with Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan, exercises began with the participation of 164 infantry brigades of the Iranian Army.

The assault units of the Iranian ground forces worked out a scenario for conducting a local border conflict using army aviation and heavy artillery, as well as battles in urban buildings.

What is the purpose of the teachings?

Despite the statements of the Iranian command about the planned nature of the exercises in northwestern Iran, they are a direct demonstration of the seriousness of the republic's intentions to protect its interests in near abroad, the Rybar telegram channel noted.

We are talking about the policy of Azerbaijan under the auspices of the Turks in the South Caucasus. The Iranian government has repeatedly warned the Azerbaijani government that the forceful change of borders in the region is a "red line" for Iran.

The stumbling block in relations between Iran and Azerbaijan is the issue of the Zangezur corridor under construction, which in theory should connect the Azerbaijani enclave of Nakhichevan with the main territory of the country and provide a land route to Turkey.

The catch is that the road should run along the current border of Iran in the south of the Syunik region. Armenia Iran fears that the new transport route may be further used as an excuse to block the path "- Iran Armenia - Georgia -." Russia

How can the road cut off Iran from Armenia?

The transport artery itself does not in any way close the borders of Iran and Armenia. However, its status is still not legally enshrined. Azerbaijanis want extraterritorial status for their corridor, that is, to legally consolidate control over a section of Armenian lands in the south.

Yerevan They are not ready to go to this, fearing the subsequent seizure of territories and demanding customs control at the entrance and exit. Baku intends to open the message by any means, without looking back at the consequences under the auspices of the Turks.

What is feared in Iran?

The opening of the Zangezur corridor will provide a direct ground route for Turkey to the Caucasus, which will allow the Turkish leadership to strengthen its presence in the region.

Iranian authorities fear the spread of the idea of ​ ​ pan-Turkism in the northwestern part of Iran, where ethnic Azerbaijanis and Turks historically live.

Amid the ongoing protests in Iran and the incitement of ethnic strife, the issue of eradicating separatism has been paramount to the Iranian government.

Some Azerbaijani media even began an information campaign in support of the demonstrators, calling their speeches "a desire to return to Azerbaijan."

In addition, the opening of the Zangezur corridor will allow the Azerbaijani government to gain control over the distribution of water resources in the Araks river basin.

Now the origins of Araks are controlled by Turkey and Armenia, and Iran and Azerbaijan are the countries of the lower reaches of the river. The creation of a path in the south of the Syunik region of Armenia will make the Iranian leadership dependent on another Turkic country.

Given the possibility of drought in the region due to climate change and dams being built by Turkish authorities in northern Iraq and eastern Turkey, the water problem is a serious threat in the future for Iran.

How serious is Iran's intentions?

Threats and pressure on the administration of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev through "muscle playing" is a completely common thing for Iran. However, the tension in the fall of 2022 in the region is fundamentally different from previous situations.

The loud words of the Iranian authorities no longer frightened anyone. The creation of a new transport route has become real. The ongoing unrest, mainly in the northwestern part of Iran, demonstrated gaps in the system of organization of power and created the prerequisites for a full-fledged attempt to overthrow the current system.

Tehran understood this and realized that it would no longer be possible to achieve its goals with ordinary statements and threats.

The development of the crossing of the Araks River by the IRGC right under the nose of the Azerbaijani border guards, as well as the opening of the Iranian consulate in Kapan, are the first really serious steps confirming Iran's intentions to firmly defend its interests.

The IRGC itself, according to the doctrine, is used for actions outside the country. And the training of the Iranian Army units near the borders of Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan, which have already become regular, is a signal of readiness to use its potential.

The Great Iran Concept

Attempts by Azerbaijani Informobors to ignite an interethnic conflict in Iran did not go unnoticed by the Iranian leadership. Representatives of the Iranian authorities began to play a similar card already on Azerbaijani territory.

Iranian media and Telegram channels are actively promoting information about the desire of residents of the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic and the historical Talyshstan region in southeastern Azerbaijan to become part of Iran.

Since October 22, more than a dozen Telegram channels have been created covering events in Nakhychevani, the cities of Masalli and Jalilabad and other settlements of Azerbaijani regions.

According to Iranian media, many residents in Azerbaijan go to rallies and protests every day, calling for a referendum and return to Iran. Security forces detained 38 people in Nakhichevan and over 200 ethnic Talysh.

A series of deaths of scientists under strange circumstances

1. Sabotage at a facility related to the development of warheads in Parchin.

On May 25, 2022, an explosion occurred at one of the complexes in Parchin, killing engineer Ehsan Gadbeigi. The official version is an industrial incident at the facility.

However, Israeli media presented another scenario: a few kilometers from Parchin, a quadcopter with a bomb was launched, aimed at one of the buildings in which Gadbeigi was.

State news agency Fars News said the investigation was underway. At the same time, Ehsan Gadbeigi was officially called "dead in battle."

2. Ayub Entezari poisoning

On June 4, 2022, information appeared about the death of a scientist who worked at a facility for the production of turbines for cruise missiles and drones in Yazd.

According to the Israeli agency Haaretz, he was invited to dinner with a friend whom he had met a month earlier. Upon returning home, he became ill and after a couple of hours he died. The "friend" he had flew that evening from Iran.

The behavior of the Iranian authorities regarding his death looks especially interesting. At first it was said that Entezari was killed. However, later the official version was the disease with which the scientist fought.

3. Death of Kamran Malapur

Another victim was reported by the Israeli media - about the nuclear scientist Kamran Malapur.

The circumstances of his death remain a mystery, but he worked at a research center in Natanz.

It is especially interesting that his death occurred practically on the same day as that of Ayub Entezari.

The situation in Iran is becoming more tense every day. The Israeli authorities are already trumpeting with might and main that the Iranian nuclear program is at the final stage.

The events of recent days are forcing Iranian scientists to accelerate development at facilities throughout the country. The closer Iran is to developing nuclear weapons, the more "strange" events are taking place in Iran, about which official Tehran is trying not to spread.

2021: Defence spending - 2.3% of GDP

Data for 2021

2020: Top scientist involved in missile and nuclear program killed in Iran

In November 2020, in the Damavand region (Tehran province in the city of Absard), Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was shot dead by a high-ranking Iranian scientist in the field of missile technology^[4]

In January 2010, as a result of a steract in Tehran, nuclear physicist Masoud Ali Mohammadi, a professor at the Imam Hussein University in the capital, was killed. The explosive device was mounted on a motorcycle parked next to his car. In November 2010, two more scientists, teachers at Beheshti University, were assassinated in the Iranian capital. As a result, Professor Majid Shahriyari died, laser physics specialist Fereidun Abbasi Davani was injured.

In January 2012, an employee of the Natanz Mostafa Ahmadi Roushan nuclear center was killed in a terrorist attack in eastern Tehran. Two unknown persons traveling on a motorcycle threw an explosive device into the interior of his car, after which they fled.

Then Tehran also then blamed all these crimes on the Israeli and American special services Later, several people involved in the assassination attempts on Iranian scientists were detained. In May 2012, Majid Jamali Fashi, who was convicted by an Iranian court of organizing the murder of Masoud Ali Mohammadi and carrying out terrorist activities against the Islamic Republic in the interests of Israeli foreign intelligence Mossad, was executed in Tehran's Evin prison.

2019

Military budget $20.7 billion or 15-20 place in the world

The military budget of 80 million Iran for 2019 was estimated at $20.7 billion (15-20 place in the world ranking), which is 3.8 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP). About a third (34 percent) of this amount falls on payments of military pensions, slightly less (29 percent) is received by the IRGC. About 17 percent of the military budget is directed to the law enforcement forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran (SPIRI), which monitors stability within the country and is under the control of the Ministry of the Interior and the General Staff of the Armed Forces. The regular army, occupied mainly by the protection of state borders, receives relatively small money (12 percent of the military budget).

Nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles

Range of Iranian ballistic missiles, 2019

Currently, Iran does not possess nuclear weapons, and uses the intensification of uranium enrichment as blackmail to weaken the US sanctions regime, which undermines the socio-economic stability of the Islamic Republic. In accordance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), concluded in July 2015 by Iran with the United States, Russia, China, Great Britain, France and Germany, the former pledged over the next 15 years to maintain the level of uranium enrichment at 3.67 percent with a total stock of uranium enriched to such an indicator of no more than 300 kilograms.

After Washington's unilateral withdrawal from this deal in May 2018, Tehran announced the first stage of reducing its obligations, and a month later - the second. In July 2019, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed that Iran had exceeded the level of uranium enrichment specified in the JCPOA.

Iran's most formidable weapons are ballistic missiles, the main deterrent to the United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia from directly attacking the Islamic Republic. The maximum range of Iranian ballistic missiles is estimated at 2,000 kilometers, which is theoretically enough to destroy objects on the territory of the Jewish state. In addition to ballistic missiles, the flight path of which can be relatively easily predicted, Tehran is actively developing cruise missiles and aerial drones capable of maneuvering at low altitude, which makes them difficult to detect by missile defense (ABM) means.

Regions falling under the influence of Iranian missiles. Image: DIA, D3 Design

Notes