TheIranian Armed Forces,[a] officially theIslamic Republic of Iran Armed Forces,[b] are the combined military forces ofIran, comprising theIslamic Republic of Iran Army (Artesh), theIslamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (Sepah) and theLaw Enforcement Command (Faraja).
Iranian Armed Forces are the largest in the Middle East in terms of active troops.[5] Iran's military forces are made up of approximately 610,000active-duty personnel plus 350,000reserve and trained personnel that can be mobilized when needed, bringing the country's military manpower to about 960,000 total personnel.[6] These numbers do not includeLaw Enforcement Command orBasij.
Most of Iran's imported weapons consist of American systems purchased before the1979 Islamic Revolution, with limited purchases from Russia in the 1990s following theIran–Iraq War.[7][8] However, the country has since then launched a robust domestic rearmament program,[9] and its inventory has becomeincreasingly indigenous. According to Iranian officials, most of the country's military hardware is domestically manufactured, and the country had already become an exporter of arms by the 2000s.[10] Unable to import weapon systems from abroad due tointernational and U.S. sanctions, and suffering from an increasingly aging air force fleet, Iran has invested considerable funds into an ambitiousballistic and cruise missile program for mid-range strike capability,[11] and has manufactured different types of arms and munitions, includingtanks,armoured vehicles anddrones, as well as various naval assets and aerial defense systems.[12][13][14][15]
Iran'sballistic missile and space program is an internationally hot political topic over which it has consistently refused to negotiate. Iranian authorities state that the country's missile program is not designed to delivernuclear payloads, but is used only forsurgical strikes. It is therefore not relevant to anynuclear negotiations with theP5+1.[16][17]
TheIranian drone program has also raised concerns across the Middle East and much of the Western world, especially with proliferation among Iranian-allied forces in the Middle East, as well as exports to countries hostile to the U.S.[18] According toU.S. Central Command chiefGen. Kenneth McKenzie, the U.S. is "for the first time since the Korean War operating without complete air superiority" due to threats posed by Iranian drones.[19]
All branches of the armed forces fall under the command of theGeneral Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces. TheMinistry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics is responsible for planninglogistics and funding of the armed forces and is not involved with in-the-field military operational command. The commander-in-chief of the armed forces is theSupreme Leader.
After thecoup in 1953, Iran began purchasing some weapons fromIsrael, the United States and other countries of theWestern Bloc. Later on, Iran began establishing its own armaments industry; its efforts in this remained largely unrecognized internationally, until recently.
Following theIranian revolution in 1979, deteriorating relations with the U.S. resulted in international sanctions led by the US, including an arms embargo being imposed on Iran.
Revolutionary Iran was taken by surprise by the Iraqi invasion that began theIran–Iraq War of 1980–1988. During this conflict, there were several conflicts against the United States. From 1987, theUnited States Central Command sought to stop Iranianmine-laying vessels from blocking the internationalsea lanes through thePersian Gulf inOperation Prime Chance. The operation lasted until 1989. On April 18, 1988, the US retaliated for the Iranianmining of theUSS Samuel B. Roberts inOperation Praying Mantis. Simultaneously, the Iranian armed forces had to learn to maintain and keep operational, their large stocks of US-built equipment and weaponry, without outside help, due to the American-led sanctions. However, Iran was able to obtain limited amounts of American-made armaments, when it was able to buy American spare parts and weaponry for its armed forces, during theIran–Contra affair. At first, deliveries came via Israel and later, from the US.[20]
The Iranian government established a five-year rearmament program in 1989 to replace worn-out weaponry from the Iran–Iraq War. Between 1989 and 1992, Iran spent $10 billion on arms, some of which were designed to prevent other states' naval vessels from accessing the sea, including marines and long-range Soviet planes capable of attacking aircraft carriers.[21]
A former military-associated police force, theIranian Gendarmerie, was merged with the National Police (Shahrbani) andIslamic Revolution Committees in 1990.
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In 1991, the Iranian armed forces received a number of Iraqi military aircraft being evacuated from the PersianGulf War of that year; most of which were incorporated into the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force.
Since 2003 there have been repeated US and British allegations that Iranian forces have been covertly involved in theIraq War. In 2004, Iranian armed forcestook Royal Navy personnel , on theShatt al-Arab (Arvand Rud in Persian) river, between Iran and Iraq. They were released three days later following diplomatic discussions between the UK and Iran.
In 2007, Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces alsotook prisonerRoyal Navy personnel prisoner when a boarding party fromHMS Cornwall was seized in the waters between Iran and Iraq, in the Persian Gulf. They were released thirteen days later.
According toJuan Cole, Iran has never launched an "aggressive war" in modern history, and its leadership adheres to a doctrine of "nofirst strike".[22] The country's military budget is the lowest per capita in thePersian Gulf region besides theUAE.[22]
Since 1979, there have been no foreign military bases present in Iran. According to Article 146 of theIranian Constitution, the establishment of any foreign military base in the country is forbidden, even for peaceful purposes.[23]
On 4 December 2011, an AmericanRQ-170 Sentinel unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)was captured by Iranian forces near the city ofKashmar in northeasternIran.
In 2012, it was announced that Iran'sQuds Force is operating inside Syria providing the government of Bashar al-Assad with intelligence and direction against rebel opposition.[24]
In December 2012, Iran stated it had captured an AmericanScanEagle UAV that violated its airspace over the Persian Gulf. Iran later stated it had also captured two other ScanEagles.
In November 2015, Iranian special forces assisted in therescue of a Russian pilot that was shot down by Turkey, over Syria.[25]
In April 2016, Iran sent advisors from the65th Airborne Special Forces Brigade to Syria in support of the government.[26]
In 2016, Revolutionary Guard forcescaptured US Navy personnel when their boats entered Iranian territorial waters off the coast of Farsi Island in the Persian Gulf. They were released the next day following diplomatic discussions between the US and Iran.
In March 2021 state TV in Iran showed footage of a "missile city" armed with ballistic and cruise weapons described as "a new Revolutionary Guard base" along the Gulf coast.[27]
In March 2023, Iran began the process of allowing women to enlist in the military for the first time since theWhite Revolution.[28]
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It has been reported that Iran is one of the five countries that has a cyber-army capable of conducting cyber-warfare operations. It has also been reported that Iran has immensely increased itscyberwarfare capability since the post presidential election un-rest.[37][38][39][40][41] Furthermore, China has accused the United States of having initiated a cyber war against Iran through websites such asTwitter andYouTube in addition to employing a hacker brigade for the purpose of fomenting unrest in Iran.[42][43] It has also been reported in early 2010 that two new garrisons for cyberwarfare have been established atZanjan andIsfahan.[44] As of 2024, Iran's cyber activities have become more sophisticated, engaging in a persistent cyber struggle with Israel that focuses on espionage, information warfare, and attempts to target critical infrastructure, although Israel maintains a technological edge.[45]
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Iran's 2021 defense budget was estimated to be $25.0 billion byIISS.[46]
 | Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found onPhabricator and onMediaWiki.org. |
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Under the lastShah of Iran,Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Iran's military industry was limited to assembly of foreign weapons. In the assembly lines that were put up by American firms, such asBell,Litton andNorthrop, Iranian workers put together a variety of helicopters, aircraft, guided missiles, electronic components and tanks.[47]
In 1973, theIran Electronics Industries (IEI) was established.[48] The company was set up in a first attempt to organize the assembly and repair of foreign-delivered weapons.[49] The IranianDefense Industries Organization was the first to succeed in taking a step into what could be called a military industry by reverse engineeringSovietRPG-7,BM-21, andSAM-7 missiles in 1979.[49]
Nevertheless, most of Iran's weapons before theIslamic revolution were imported from the United States and Europe. Between 1971 and 1975, theShah went on a buying spree, ordering $8 billion in weapons from the United States alone. This alarmed theUnited States Congress, which strengthened a 1968 law on arms exports in 1976 and renamed it the Arms Export Control Act. Still, the United States continued to sell large amounts of weapons to Iran until the 1979Islamic Revolution.[50]
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After the Islamic revolution, Iran found itself severely isolated and lacking technological expertise. Because of economic sanctions and a weapons embargo put on Iran by the United States, it was forced to rely on its domestic arms industry for weapons and spare parts, since there were very few countries willing todo business with Iran.[51]
TheIslamic Revolutionary Guards were put in charge of creating what is today known as theIranian military industry. Under their command, Iran's military industry was enormously expanded, and with theMinistry of Defense pouring investment into the missile industry, Iran soon accumulated avast arsenal of missiles.[47]Since 1992, it has also produced its owntanks,armored personnel carriers,radar systems,guided missiles,marines, military vessels andfighter planes.[52] Iran is also producing its own submarines.[53]
In recent years, official announcements have highlighted the development of weapons such as theFajr-3 (MIRV),Hoot,Kowsar,Fateh-110,Shahab-3 missile systems and a variety ofunmanned aerial vehicles, at least one of whichIsrael claims has been used to spy on its territory.[54]
On November 2, 2012, Iran's Brigadier General Hassan Seifi reported that the Iranian Army had achieved self-suffiency in producing military equipment, and that the abilities of Iranian scientists have enabled the country to make significant progress in this field. He was quoted saying, "Unlike Western countries which hide their new weapons and munitions from all, the Islamic Republic of Iran's Army is not afraid of displaying its latest military achievements and all countries must become aware of Iran's progress in producing weaponry."[55]
Iran has produced severalunmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), which can be used for reconnaissance and combat operations. Iran has also claimed to have downed,captured and later reverse-engineered US and Israeli drones. Iranian drones have seen extensive combat during theSyrian Civil War[56] as well as by theHouthi movement during theYemeni Civil War, mostly against Saudi targets.[57] Some time after the beginning ofRussia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the U.S. reported that Iran was supplying Russia with military drones.[58] Iran later confirmed the reports, though it denied the drones were meant to be used in the Ukraine war, and added that China was on the list of countries looking to import Iranian drones.[59][60]
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On November 2, 2006, Iran fired unarmed missiles to begin 10 days ofmilitary simulations. Iranian state television reported "dozens of missiles were fired includingShahab-2 andShahab-3 missiles. The missiles had ranges from 300 km to up to 2,000 km. Iranian experts have made some changes to Shahab-3 missiles installing clusterwarheads in them with the capacity to carry 1,400 bombs." These launches came after some United States-led military exercises in thePersian Gulf on October 30, 2006, meant to train for blocking the transport ofweapons of mass destruction.[61]
Iran is also believed to have started the development of an ICBM/IRBM missile project, known asGhadr-110 with a range of 3000 km; the program is believed to be a parallel of the advancement of a satellite launcher namedIRIS. Iran also dedicatedunderground ballistic missile bases and silos. Older generation platforms, like theShahab family, are slowly being phased out of service and replaced by newer generation ballistic missiles that emphasise accuracy and manoeuvrability over longer range, such as theFateh andSejjil families. By 2020, the U.S. military command in the Middle East had assessed that Iran's missile forces, by far the largest and most diverse in the Middle East, have already achieved overmatch against their adversaries in the region.[62]
Iran started a major campaign to produce and stockpile chemical weapons after a truce was agreed with Iraq after 1980–88Iran–Iraq War.[63] However, Iran ratified theChemical Weapons Convention in 1997. Iranian troops and civilians suffered tens of thousands of casualties from Iraqichemical weapons during the 1980–88 Iran–Iraq War.
Even today, more than twenty-four years after the end of the Iran–Iraq War, about 30,000 Iranians are still suffering and dying from the effects of chemical weapons employed by Iraq during the war. The need to manage the treatment of such a large number of casualties has placed Iran's medical specialists in the forefront of the development of effective treatment regimens for chemical weapons victims, and particularly for those suffering from exposure tomustard gas.[64]
Iran ratified theBiological Weapons Convention in 1973.[65] Iran has advanced biological andgenetic engineering research programs supporting an industry that producesvaccines for both domestic use and export.[66]
In 2013, Iran was reported to supply money, equipment, technological expertise andunmanned aerial vehicles (drones) to the Syrian government and Hezbollah during theSyrian civil war, and to the Iraqi government and its state-sponsored organizations thePopular Mobilization Forces, andPeshmerga duringWar on ISIL.[67]
| Model | Image | Origin | Quantity | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tanks | ||||
| T-54A |  Soviet Union | Unknown | [68] | |
| T-55A | [68] | |||
| Type 69 |  China | (Captured fromIraq).[68] | ||
| Safir-74 |  Iran | [68] | ||
| Chonma-ho |  North Korea | [68] | ||
| T-72M | Soviet Union | (Captured from Iraq), (Some with an upgraded fire-control system).[68] | ||
| T-72M1 | (Some with an upgraded fire-control system).[68] | |||
| T-72S |  Russia | (Some with electro-optical active protection system or slat armour).[68] | ||
| FV 101 Scorpion |  United Kingdom | (Locally upgraded examples known as Tosan).[68] | ||
| FV4201 Chieftain | (Locally upgraded examples known as Mobarez), (Some with a Russian V-84 engine).[68] | |||
| M47M |  United States | (Some upgraded with an EO device and explosive reactive armour).[68] | ||
| M48A5 | [68] | |||
| M60A1 Patton | [68] | |||
| Karrar | Iran | [68] | ||
| Armoured Fighting Vehicles | ||||
| EE-9 |  Brazil | Unknown | (Captured from Iraq).[68] | |
| Lynx | United States | (Some armed withZU-23s).[68] | ||
| Infantry Fighting Vehicles | ||||
| BMP-1 | Soviet Union | Unknown | [68] | |
| BMP-2 | (Some upgraded to carry Dehlavieh ATGMs).[68] | |||
| BTR-82 | Iran | [68] | ||
| Armoured Personnel Carriers | ||||
| BTR-50PK | Soviet Union | Unknown | [68] | |
| BTR-60PB | [68] | |||
| M113 | United States | [68] | ||
| Boragh | Iran | (Can be armed with MRLs and ZU-23s).[68] | ||
| Rakhsh | (Can be armed with ZU-23s).[68] | |||
| Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) Vehicles | ||||
| Toofan | Iran | Unknown | [68] | |
| Ra'ad | (Yet to enter mass production).[68] | |||
| Caracal | ||||
| Infantry Mobility Vehicles (IMV) | ||||
| M1151 | United States | Unknown | (Taken over fromAfghan National Army elements that escaped to Iran).[68] | |
| YOZ 102 | Iran | [68] | ||
| Jasour | [68] | |||
| Fateq | (Can be armed with RCLs).[68] | |||
| Roueintan | (Yet to enter mass production).[68] | |||
| Early Rakhsh | (Can be armed with ZU-23s).[68] | |||
| Late Rakhsh | [68] | |||
| Kia | [68] | |||
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