Referred to as the second most powerful military power
in the Middle East by retired US General John Abizaid,
the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran is
headed by its Commander-in-Chief Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iran is ranked 21st out of 133 countries in terms of their military
power with over $10 billion budget for its military requirements.
Iran has come a long way in its military defense area
from its intense revolutionary days back in 1979 to now.
Iran is only one of the few countries in the world who dare to challenge
the United States, of course with the exception of North Korea,
leave alone the fact that the military spending of United States
is more than double the GDP of the whole country of Iran.
History
In the year 1980, Iraq had surprised Iran by invading
Iran which turned in a war that lasted from 1980 to 1988.
This was the time when Iran had just started revolutionizing when it
found itself on the wrong side of the relation with the United States
resulting in an arms restriction being imposed on it by the latter.
The constant confrontation and conflicts with
the United States didn’t help Iran either.
The situation kept getting complicated when Iran started deploying naval mines
to block and stop the shipping lane which passes through the Gulf of Persia.
One of the naval mines struck United States Navy’s Ship USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG-58),
in retaliation the United States countered it with its famous Operation Praying Mantis.
Defense System
Post war, Iran has been following a deterrent
based military doctrine, a framework of no first
strike, supported by its Law Enforcement Forces,
The Revolutionary Guard Corps, and the Army.
All the three branches fall under the purview
of the General Staff of Armed Forces.
The logistics planning and funding for the armed forces are under
the charge of the Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics.
Every now and then Iran has had its fair share of tiffs with the United States.
Though Iran follows a deterrent based Military
doctrine its leaders believe that it needs
to be capable enough to defend and fight back
if ever it is put into such a circumstance.
It has a good stock of arsenal in its kitty.
The Sejjil missile which is a surface to surface two-stage ballistic missile
first tested by Iran in 2008 has a range of 2000 to 2500 kilometers,
it can easily target Israel and some parts of south-east Europe as well.
A missile that can deliver a payload of 750 kg, it is feared
by many that it can soon deliver a nuclear payload as well.
Iran’s Hezbollah which is a medium strength army has military
capabilities that are both conventional as well as unconventional.
Many times Hezbollah was used to carry out terrorist attacks; their operational reach
is tremendous unlike that of Quds Force which is limited to the Middle East only.
Iran’s growing fleet of Qadir class midget submarines surely
suggests that it wants to leverage the Strait of Hormuz
which is dearly protected by the United States
with as much as $8 trillion investment since 1976.
Strait of Hormuz is a sea route that most oil shipments and other cargo
or container ships need to take to deliver the goods to their markets.
As the name suggests, Qadir midget submarines are very small in size making it very
easy for them to hide in plain sight, detecting and tracking these is very difficult.
Each of these submarines has a capacity to hold two 533 mm tubes for firing
torpedoes, transport Special Forces into rival territory and to lay mines.
Another important weaponry with Iran is their Khalij-e Fars missiles.
A surface to surface single stage solid propeller, it is a supersonic
anti-ship ballistic missile with a range of 300 kilometers.
At this range, it can easily carry a payload of 650 kg.
Military Structure
At the top of the military structure of Iran is the Office of the Supreme Leader.
The senior most military body in Iran is the General Staff of the Armed Forces, it
is responsible for coordination, policy-making and monitoring of the armed forces.
Under the supervision of General Staff of the
Armed Forces, work the two militaries – the Army
and the Revolutionary Guard Corps along with
its police force the Law Enforcement agency.
The Army has its own Ground Force, Air Force (a subset
of which is also the Air Defense Force), and the Navy.
While the Revolutionary Guard Corps has a Ground Force, Air Force, Navy, Basji – which
is an auxiliary force that takes care of the
social services, internal law enforcements,
policing morals etc, and Quds Force – this is a special force that
was brought together for conducting extraterritorial operations.
The Islamic Republic of Iran Army boasts of estimated personnel of 398,000
whereas the Revolutionary Guards Corps has an estimated 125,000 personnel.
All the branches of military together possess total aircraft strength
of 477, which includes 137 fighter aircrafts and attack aircrafts,
203 transport aircrafts, 79 trainer aircrafts, and an overall
helicopter strength of 126 that includes 12 attack helicopters.
The Army is equipped with 1,616 Combat Tanks, 1,315 Armored Fighting Vehicles, 320
Self Propelled Artillery, 2,078 Towed Artillery, and 1,474 Rocket Propellers.
Total naval arsenal which stands at 398 comprises of 33 Submarines, 230
Patrol Craft, 10 Mine Warfare Vessels, 5 Frigates and 3 Corvettes.
Modern Military Prowess
Addressing a crowd in Tehran in early 2018 President Hassan
Rouhani made it clear that it will enhance its military power
to an extent so as to protect itself and its people from any impending
threats without really seeking permission from anyone before proceeding.
While agreeing that weapons that are designed for mass
destruction do not have a place in Iran’s military schedule,
Iran also emphasized that it will keep doing all it can to
keep up its military prowess if it senses any kind of threat.
This clearly sets the precedence for the Iranian government and its Armed Forces.