The militias operate in at least five countries in the region. ![]() Perhaps more importantly, the extraterritorial use of the Quds Force provides for the enlistment of various Shi'ite militias that number, according to The Guardian, up to 200,000 fighters. The Quds Force is mostly tasked with overseas operations, predominantly in the Middle East.Įstimates of its exact number of forces vary.īut Jack Watling, a research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, told NBC News that it is a “divisional strength military formation” of around 17,000 to 21,000 members. drone strike on January 3 - the event that put Iran and the United States in their current quandary. One of those groups, the Quds Force, was led for decades by Soleimani until his assassination in a U.S. The IRGC itself is made up of five subgroups. In a sign of its importance, IRGC Commander in Chief Hossein Salami reports directly to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The active forces are comprised of 350,000 in the regular army and at least 150,000 in the IRGC, which has the most powerful forces in the Iranian military. With some 523,000 active-duty forces and another 350,000 reserves, Iran has the largest standing military in the Middle East. In terms of overall military strength, the Iranian armed forces rank 14th in the world out of 137 countries that are ranked in 2019 by Global Firepower and Business Insider. "Additionally, the IRGC controls a significant portion of Iran’s underground economy." "The military establishment controls of the market value of companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange and owns thousands of other companies, all of which generate revenue for the armed forces," the FDD reported. sanctions, a strategy that Washington refers to as "maximum pressure."īut Iran’s military establishment, especially the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), does not depend merely on the state budget for its funding, according to the Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). In addition, Iranian military expenditures declined by 9.5 percent in 2018 compared to the previous year due to massive economic problems caused by U.S. Iran's defense budget in 2018 was more than $13 billion, ranking it 18th in the world in terms of military expenditures, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).īut Tehran lagged far behind regional foes such as Saudi Arabia, which spent some $70 billion, and Israel, at $18.5 billion (the United States is without rival at more than $700 billion). ![]() The Iranian military - which is the eighth largest in the world based on active personnel - is suited to pursue a strategy of asymmetrical warfare. It added that Tehran lacks any major friends in the region: "Iran has decent relations with Russia and China but no stalwart, great-power allies."Īs arguably one of the world’s most-isolated countries, Iran has mainly embarked on a strategy of proxy wars or conducting asymmetrical strikes aimed at exploiting the vulnerabilities of American and U.S.-led forces. "They have a ballistic-missile program but no long-range missiles that can reach the United States," T he Atlantic noted. The Iranians have a well-publicized and highly controversial nuclear program, but do not currently have the capability to make a nuclear weapon. In pursuing that goal, Iran will likely avoid a full-blown war because its military is no match for the American armed forces and Washington's allies stationed in the Middle East, experts say. forces deployed in 10 countries throughout the region with the ultimate objective being to push them out. To accomplish that, Tehran has done everything possible to deter and harass the enormous contingents of U.S. Tehran’s main goal is to project its influence and protect its interests throughout the Middle East or to at least prevent adversaries, like Saudi Arabia, from gaining the upper hand. The answer to that question hinges largely on what strategic goals Iran pursues. ![]() So just how strong are the Islamic republic's armed forces? With the possibility of a major conflict brewing with the United States since the killing of Quds Force Commander Qasem Soleimani, the capabilities of the Iranian military are being sharply scrutinized.
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