The specificity of religious influence in the state significantly affected various spheres of Iran’s political and social life. National features were not spared and the Armed forces of Iran. The country's army is considered the most numerous among other states of the Middle and Middle East. The current paramilitary force managed to gain invaluable military experience for 8 years during the course of the war with Iraq - from 1980 to 1988. The fundamental factors in creating a powerful defense base were Iran’s military-political independence, economic potential and the uniqueness of religious national values.
Sunni and Shiite war
Due to the fact that the army was a direct participant in the Arab-Iranian conflict, comparing the Armed Forces of Iran and Saudi Arabia within the confrontation of two branches of the Islamic faith is of certain importance. The confrontation between the Sunnis and Shiites was clearly manifested by the above war in the 80s of the XX century. Political scientists, historians call this battle the largest in modern history of the world after the Second World War. Speaking against Iranian Shiites, the Arabs actively used ballistic missiles and chemical weapons against the civilian population. More than 1 million people were recognized dead among civilians and those representing the Armed Forces of Iran and Saudi Arabia.
In addition, Iraq has benefited from the numerous support of neighboring Arab states. The IRI did not forget about it.
Components of the Armed Forces of Iran
The armed forces of Iran, whose structure and organization are distinguished by the presence of two fundamental elements, are a powerful defense complex. The first is a permanent formation, traditional for world states, - a regular army. The second is the so-called IRGC, the Corps of Guardians of the Islamic Revolution. Both organizations have their own subsystem, consisting of ground forces, a powerful fleet and military aircraft. Each of them functions confidently both in wartime and in peace.
Among the components of the IRGC, the presence of a strategically important structure should be emphasized, the tasks of which include providing the main headquarters with data obtained during reconnaissance and sabotage measures. In addition to the designated Special Forces, the Law Enforcement Forces also represent the Armed Forces. Iran especially needs the activities of specialized law enforcement agencies in wartime. During this period, they are led by the General Staff of the Armed Forces.
Under the auspices of the IRGC, an additional unit of the people's militia, called the “Islamic Army of 20 million,” or the Resistance and Mobilization Forces, was also created.
Powers of the spiritual leader of the state
According to the main statutory legislative act of Iran, Art. 110 states that the Supreme Commander-in-Chief is recognized as the spiritual leader of the state and nation as a whole. In addition, this Constitution granted him authority to manage and make the most important decisions of the military-political sphere of the republic. The main issues affecting the competence of the spiritual leader include:
- The declaration of war, peace and the beginning of mobilization on a national scale.
- Selection, appointment, removal and acceptance of the resignation of the leaders of individual parts and components of the Iranian Armed Forces: command of the General Staff, IRGC, SOP, etc.
- Coordination, management and control over the work of the Supreme Council of National Security. This advisory body is the most important link in ensuring state security, defense capability, strategic and tactical planning of the work of the highest executive bodies in the relevant sectors.
Supreme Council of National Security of Iran
The main objectives of the latter structure are to develop protective measures that are consistent with the policy of the spiritual leader, and to coordinate the social, economic, informational and cultural aspects of state activity with the security interests of the state.
The armed forces of Iran report to the commander in chief directly through the General Staff. In turn, the latter serves as an administrative and operational management apparatus not only when martial law is introduced in the country. The General Staff of the Armed Forces unites the leadership of the regular army and the Guard Corps, SOP and decentralized local authorities of each of these units, which have their own purpose, composition and responsibilities.
Iranian Ministry of Defense
The Ministry of Defense is not part of the Armed Forces of Iran. It is not directly related to the direct combat missions of the troops. The mission of the central executive body is:
- implementation of the construction of military facilities;
- drawing up a budget intended only to finance the military industry;
- control over the targeted use of funds;
- support to the domestic defense industry;
- purchase and modernization of military equipment.
The number of military personnel and the number of military equipment
The total aggregate number of people entering the Armed Forces, Iran can proudly boast: the average figure is equal to 700 thousand. Other sources provide slightly different numbers: from 500 to 900 thousand troops. Moreover, representatives of the ground forces make up about 80% of all troops. Behind them are 100 thousand people involved in military aviation, then about 40 thousand military are represented by naval forces.
The inaccuracy of information is easily explained by their inaccessibility and secrecy in Iran. When the armed forces begin to interest the world community, Iran tightly closes the "information doors" in front of it. The main stream of data is being moved from unofficial sources, so distortion of the statements about personnel, weapons and equipment can often be found.
As for military equipment, here also among the countries of the Middle East , the Iranian Armed Forces hold leadership positions: tanks, according to some reports, comprise about 2000 units, about 2500 artillery pieces, about 900 MLRS, including Grad, Smerch, "Hurricane" and others. We can not say about 200 units of anti-ship missiles, 300 combat aircraft, 400 launchers of tactical and anti-aircraft missiles. This is not the whole list of equipment owned by the Armed Forces of Iran. BTR, BMP, self-propelled artillery, mortars - all of the above weapons inspire confidence in the country's power.
Education and training of personnel and officers
Staff development is an issue often on the agendas of the leadership heading the Armed Forces. Iran is currently taking serious steps in the system of education of soldiers and military training of officers. Comprehensive training and combat training, as observers note, helps to establish a mechanism for the interaction of all units and military units of various kinds of troops.
Particular attention in the educational process deserves discipline and training to practice the actions of each person obligated in the conditions of guerrilla battles, in the event that an occupying regime is established throughout the state by an enemy with an ultramodern weapon. In addition, if the military does not meet the proper level of training after completing a military training course, this does not mean that it is not suitable for military service. Religious attitudes and moral-psychological trainings will be able to compensate for such “gaps”. In the future, these people will be able to participate and organize the psychological operations of the Iranian Armed Forces.
The purpose of the IRGC
Considering the Armed Forces of Iran, we should dwell on one of their elements. It is interesting that the Corps of Guardians of the Islamic Revolution (IRGC) was originally created as an unstable formation in order to ensure domestic law and order. Formed over 30 years ago, the IRGC was completely separated from the army and had nothing to do with it, including the management system. However, at the very beginning of the war between Iran and Iraq, the huge potential and multifunctional capabilities of the corps were revealed. Due to its predominance over the regular army in military, political and power capabilities, the leading link of the Iranian state prepared the main role for the corps in the system of the Armed Forces. For several years of the post-war period, the complex process of a leisurely but steady combination of the two fundamental structures of the paramilitary sphere of the state continued. At the same time, the Ministry of Defense, the General Staff , was unified for the corps and army . Definitely, the Iranian Armed Forces today have a complex apparatus and a successfully functioning Guard Corps system, which in many respects exceeds that of the regular state army.
Some time after the designation of the head of the Islamic Republic of Iran as a follower of the IRGC, rumors arose about the likely merger of the two main components of the country's military system, while the supremacy is likely to be given to the corps.
Iran Nuclear Weapons Program
Since Iran is a nuclear state, missiles and the probability of their use are one of the main issues of the entire world community. Iran is capable of repelling the unpopular military decisions of the United States and Israel in relation to the state’s nuclear program.
Experts analyzing the armaments aspects of the countries of the East believe that missile weapons for Iran are the most important element of manipulation and control over potential opponents. By threatening to use missiles with nuclear warheads, the state is able to maintain supremacy in any given situation. It is not surprising that funding aimed at supporting and developing missile programs occupies a significant share of the entire military budget. For example, in the early 90s, in the post-war period, the state had many “gaps” in the socio-economic aspects of its life. Moreover, even then the emphasis was on optimizing the indicated industry: the number of operational tactical missiles was significantly higher than the number of such weapons in neighboring eastern states.
Features of the formation of weapons in Iran
In addition, following the "nuclear" path, Iran was faced with many, at first glance, absolutely insurmountable difficulties. The country has not developed a research component that includes scientific traditions, specialized training, and many years of experience. To create innovative weapons, therefore, was simply impossible. It could not be on a par with the most difficult achievements of Russians, Americans, or developers of Western Europe. That is why the military-industrial complex of Iran is based on the method of borrowing foreign samples for the reproduction of weapons in the country.
It follows that the priority in design work and scientific research is the cloning of imported weapons, and more often - the passage of modernization to meet Iranian needs. An example material is Chinese, North Korean, Pakistani, American and Russian military products. This has been repeatedly confirmed by weapons experts. The Iranian guns undergoing presentation and display for the first time were immediately criticized by well-known military experts. Iran probably finds “sources for inspiration” in a variety of ways: from illegal procurement schemes to intelligence. In addition, agreements on military-technical cooperation signed bilaterally are of no small importance.
The presence of significant difficulties did not prevent the top leadership of the country from creating a military research base and armed forces. Iran currently has a sufficient number of research institutes, research laboratories, design institutions. The created military infrastructure serves as a place for the development of the latest models of various military equipment.
IRI Missile Forces
Despite the fact that Iranian developers have many options for missile systems so far only in the future, existing analogues in the next decade have great chances of obtaining an important basis for the creation of ballistic missiles with an average range at the initial stage. Achieving such significant results will allow us to approach the creation of intercontinental ballistic missiles. But so far these are only plans. Today Iran has a modest equipment with missiles, and a well-thought-out strategy.
Several missile brigades and their central command are subordinate to the spiritual leader - the Supreme Commander:
- Shahab-3D and Shahab-3M have an approximate range of 1300 km. They are accompanied by 32 launchers.
- Shahab-1 and Shahab-2 have a range of up to 700 km and 64 launchers.
- Tactical missiles.
Missile launch process
The missile forces of the Armed Forces of the Iranian state use, as a rule, mobile installations for launching missiles. This fact positively affects their functioning. On the main territorial part of Iran, there are missile-technical bases corresponding to the positioning of the regions. In each of them there are warehouses, fuels and lubricants, aviation fuel, a developed communication system, and has its own infrastructure.
Complexes of missiles, taking the order of duty, regularly change their actual location. Launchers predominantly disguise as mediocre trucks, which are accompanied by two also camouflaged vehicles. Each of the latter secretly carries two missile warheads. The process of moving often takes place near mobile gas stations.
Trying to predict the development of the geopolitical scenario, one should take into account the current situation around Iran. The state’s readiness for confrontation is determined by the state of its armed forces, which has a significant impact on the development of global processes.