Analysis of Iran's Military Strength by Foreign Media

Reference News Network reported on February 10 According to a report by Turkey's Anadolu Agency on February 6, at a critical stage of important negotiations in Oman, both the United States and Iran chose to make statements involving military strength first.

The Global Military Power Index shows that, in terms of troop strength, equipment, and logistics capabilities, Iran has entered the ranks of the top 20 military powers in the world. This article will provide a detailed analysis of Iran's military strength and combat capabilities.

· Troop Strength

Iran has one of the largest standing armed forces in the Middle East.

The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) estimates that Iran's active military personnel is about 610,000. Among them, the regular army has about 350,000 personnel, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has about 190,000 personnel—this independent elite force controls Iran's missile and drone units and is responsible for regional military operations.

The remaining personnel distribution is as follows: approximately 18,000 in the navy, about 37,000 in the air force, around 15,000 in air defense forces, and about 40,000 in gendarmerie and paramilitary forces.

In addition, it is estimated that Iran has about 350,000 reserve personnel, including veterans and volunteers.

· Ballistic Missiles and Drones

Missiles and unmanned combat systems are the pillars of Iran's defense strategy.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) states that Iran possesses the largest and most diverse missile arsenal in the Middle East, equipped with thousands of ballistic and cruise missiles, with ranges covering from hundreds of kilometers to as far as 2,000 to 2,500 kilometers.

The agency claims that some missile systems can strike Israel and parts of southeastern Europe.

Before last year's "Twelve-Day War" with Israel, Iran's ballistic missile stockpile was estimated to be between 2,500 and 3,000 missiles. Analysts believe that this stockpile was reduced by about half during the "Twelve-Day War."

Iran's Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, Abdolrahim Mousavi, stated this week that Iran has strengthened its deterrent capability by upgrading its domestically produced ballistic missiles. He also mentioned that by adopting asymmetric warfare strategies, Iran has shifted its military strategy from defense to offense.

IISS believes that Iran's missile forces achieve long-range strikes through short-range and medium-range ballistic missiles, land-attack cruise missiles, and drones, compensating for its air force's shortcomings.

One of the most notable missiles in Iran's arsenal is the "Khoramshahr"-4 ballistic missile, which has a range of 2,000 kilometers and a warhead weight of 1,500 kilograms.

During last year's conflict with Israel, the IRGC claimed it used the "Mudstone"-2 missile for the first time, describing it as a "ballistic missile with a range of 2,000 kilometers and equipped with a super high-power warhead." It also claimed to have deployed the "Conqueror" hypersonic missile with a range of 1,400 kilometers.

It is believed that during that war, Iran launched about 550 ballistic missiles and approximately 1,000 drones at Israeli targets.

Iran has invested heavily in the drone sector, particularly focusing on the "Witness" series and "Phantom" series drones. CSIS noted that Russia has also extensively used Iran's "Witness" drones on the battlefield in Ukraine.

The Iranian military also claims to operate a nationwide network of underground missile bases, commonly referred to as "missile cities."

· Ground Forces

Iran's ground forces are large in scale, primarily consisting of conventional combat forces.

IISS estimates that Iran's regular army alone has about 350,000 personnel, equipped with over 1,500 main battle tanks, including T-72 tanks, domestically produced "Zolfaqar" tanks, and older U.S.-made tanks.

The Iranian army is also equipped with thousands of infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers, as well as nearly 7,000 artillery systems, covering towed artillery, multiple rocket launchers, and other types.

Analysts believe that most of the equipment of Iran's ground forces consists of models from decades ago, upgraded from equipment designed by the U.S., Soviet Union, and China, making Iran's ground forces more suitable for territorial defense and protracted attrition warfare rather than rapid offensive operations.

· Air Force

Iran's air force is generally considered the weakest branch of its conventional military forces.

IISS data shows that although the Iranian air force has about 37,000 personnel, it is equipped with only about 250 operational aircraft.

Most of these aircraft are from before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, including aging F-4 "Phantom" fighter jets, F-5 "Tiger" fighter jets, and a small number of F-14 "Tomcat" fighter jets.

Analysts say that international sanctions have made it increasingly difficult for Iran's air force to maintain and modernize its equipment.

The website "Combat Capability: Iran" points out that the equipment of the Iranian air force "mainly consists of outdated models from the Cold War era, mostly sourced from the U.S., supplemented by some Soviet models, and one French-made fighter jet, thus forming the entire fleet."

The website also states, "A shortage of parts and the lack of external support have limited the modernization of this equipment, while Iranian domestic military enterprises have been trying to replicate some equipment, especially the Northrop F-5 'Tiger' light fighter series from the U.S."

· Navy

IISS believes that Iran has adopted a clear asymmetric strategy at sea.

The agency states: "Although the Iranian navy focuses on asymmetric warfare methods, such as using mines, anti-ship missiles, fast boats, and small submarines, it has also shown interest in blue-water operations and power projection."

The Iranian navy does not rely on large warships but is equipped with over 100 small fast attack boats armed with anti-ship missiles and rockets—designed specifically for conducting swarm attacks on large vessels in the narrow waters of the Persian Gulf.

The Global Military Power Index estimates that the Iranian navy has 109 vessels, including 25 submarines, 21 patrol boats, 7 frigates, 3 corvettes, and 1 mine warfare vessel.

· Military Expenditure

Compared to regional competitors, Iran's military budget is moderate in scale.

Data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute shows that Iran's defense spending for 2024 is $7.9 billion, a decrease of 10% from 2023, but still 21% higher than in 2015.

The institute states: "Iran's military expenditure has decreased year-on-year, mainly due to the continued impact of high inflation on its fiscal spending, part of which is caused by U.S. economic sanctions against Iran, which have severely impacted Iran's oil exports—its main source of export revenue."

However, Iranian media reported last December that the Iranian government has approved a significant increase of 145% in defense and security allocations for the next fiscal year. (Translated by Zhu Jie)