Iran Military - 2024

Military and security forces

the military forces of Iran are divided between the Islamic Republic of Iran Regular Forces (Artesh) and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (Sepah):

Islamic Republic of Iran Regular Forces or Islamic Republic of Iran Army (Artesh): Ground Forces, Navy (includes marines), Air Force, Air Defense Forces

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC or Sepah): Ground Forces, Navy (includes marines), Aerospace Force (controls strategic missile force), Qods Force (aka Quds Force; special operations), Cyber Electronic Command, Basij Paramilitary Forces

Ministry of Interior: Law Enforcement Command

Ministry of Intelligence and Security (2023)

note 1: the Artesh Navy operates Iran’s larger warships and operates in the Gulf of Oman, the Caspian Sea, and deep waters in the region and beyond; the IRGC Navy has responsibility for the closer-in waters of the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz

note 2: the Basij is a volunteer paramilitary group under the IRGC with local organizations across the country, which sometimes acts as an auxiliary law enforcement unit for the IRGC; it is formally known as the Organization for the Mobilization of the Oppressed and also known as the Popular Mobilization Army

note 3: the Ministry of Intelligence and Security and law enforcement forces under the Interior Ministry, which report to the president, and the IRGC, which reports to the supreme leader, share responsibility for law enforcement and maintaining order

note 4: the Law Enforcement Command (FARAJA) is the uniformed police of Iran and includes branches for public security, traffic control, anti-narcotics, special forces (riot control, counterterrorism, hostage rescue, etc), intelligence, and criminal investigations; it has responsibility for border security (Border Guard Command)

Military expenditures

2.5% of GDP (2022 est.)
2.3% of GDP (2021 est.)
2.1% of GDP (2020 est.)
2.5% of GDP (2019 est.)
3.4% of GDP (2018 est.)

Military and security service personnel strengths

information varies; up to 600,000 active armed forces personnel; approximately 400,000 Islamic Republic of Iran Regular Forces (350,000 Ground Forces; 18,000 Navy; 40,000 Air Force/Air Defense Forces); approximately 150-190,000 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (100-150,000 Ground Forces; 20,000 Navy; 15,000 Aerospace Force; 5-15,000 Qods Force); estimated 90,000 active Basij Paramilitary Forces (2023)

Military equipment inventories and acquisitions

the Iranian military's inventory includes a mix of domestically produced and mostly older foreign equipment largely of Chinese, Russian, Soviet, and US origin (US equipment acquired prior to the Islamic Revolution in 1979); it also has some military equipment from North Korea, including midget submarines and ballistic missiles; in recent years, Iran has received some newer equipment from Russia; Iran has a defense industry with the capacity to develop, produce, support, and sustain air, land, missile, and naval weapons programs (2023)

Military service age and obligation

military service is compulsory for all Iranian men 18/19 to approximately age 40; 16 for voluntary military service (may be as low as 15 for the Basij); conscript military service obligation is up to 24 months, depending on the location of service (soldiers serving in places of high security risk and deprived areas serve shorter terms); women exempted from military service (2023)

note: conscripts serve in the Artesh, IRGC, and Law Enforcement; approximately 80% of Artesh ground forces personnel are conscripts, while Navy and Air/Air Defense Force personnel are primarily volunteers; conscripts reportedly comprise a significant portion of the IRGC

Military deployments

continues to maintain a military presence in Syria reportedly of a few thousand personnel, mostly of special operations and IRGC forces (2024)

note: Iran has recruited, trained, and funded thousands of Syrian and foreign fighters to support the ASAD regime during the Syrian civil war

Military - note

the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was formed in May 1979 in the immediate aftermath of Shah Mohammad Reza PAHLAVI’s fall, as leftists, nationalists, and Islamists jockeyed for power; while the interim prime minister controlled the government and state institutions, such as the Army, followers of Ayatollah Ruhollah KHOMEINI organized counterweights, including the IRGC, to protect the Islamic revolution; the IRGC’s command structure bypassed the elected president and went directly to KHOMEINI; the IRGC played a critical role in helping KHOMEINI consolidate power in the aftermath of the 1979 revolution, and it ensured that KHOMEINI's Islamic revolutionary vision prevailed against domestic challenges from nationalists and leftist factions in the scramble for control after the Shah's departure; the Iran-Iraq War (1980–88) transformed the IRGC into more of a conventional fighting force with its own ground, air, naval, and special forces, plus control over Iran’s strategic missile and rocket forces; today, the IRGC is a highly institutionalized and parallel military force to Iran’s regular armed forces (Artesh); it is heavily involved in internal security and has significant influence in the political and economic spheres of Iranian society, as well as Iran’s foreign policy; on the economic front, it owns factories and corporations and subsidiaries in banking, infrastructure, housing, airlines, tourism and other sectors; its special operations forces, known as the Qods/Quds Force, specialize in foreign missions and have provided advice, funding, guidance, material support, training, and weapons to militants in countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen, as well as extremist groups, including HAMAS, Hizballah, Kata’ib Hizballah, and Palestine Islamic Jihad (see Appendix T for additional details on the IRGC and Qods Force); the Qods Force also conducts intelligence and reconnaissance operations 

the Supreme Council for National Security (SCNS) is the senior-most body for formulating Iran’s foreign and security policy; it is formally chaired by the president, who also appoints the SCNS secretary; its members include the speaker of the Majles, the head of the judiciary, the chief of the Armed Forces General Staff (chief of defense or CHOD), the commanders of the Artesh (regular forces) and IRGC, and the ministers of defense, foreign affairs, interior, and intelligence; the SCNS reports to the supreme leader; the supreme leader is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces

the Iranian Armed Forces are divided between the regular forces (Artesh) and the IRGC; the Artesh primarily focuses on defending Iran’s borders and territorial waters from external threats, while the IRGC has a broader mission to defend the Iranian revolution from any foreign or domestic threat; in 1989, Iran established the Armed Forces General Staff to coordinate military action across both the Artesh and the IRGC; Iran also has a joint military headquarters, the Khatam ol-Anbia Central Headquarters, to command the Artesh and IRGC in wartime

the Artesh Ground Force consists of about 50 combat brigades, mostly infantry with a sizable contingent of airborne, armored, commando, mechanized, and special operations forces; most units are concentrated along the Iran-Iraq border, reflecting the force’s primary mission to defend against foreign invasion; the IRGC Ground Force is organized into corps for each of the 31 provinces and Tehran city; the corps have a broad mix of armored, infantry, mechanized, and commando units and are postured to counter internal unrest or a ground invasion; the IRGC’s special operations forces are known as the Qods Force; the IRGC controls the Basij Paramilitary Forces, which are also organized into provincial corps with mobile/rapid-reaction, security, infantry, and commando battalions

the Artesh Navy is considered Iran’s “blue water” navy and has the primary mission of defending Iranian territorial waters and protecting the country’s economic interests in the Caspian Sea, Gulf of Oman, and beyond; it has approximately 10 frigates and corvettes, plus a small force of attack and midget submarines (note - Iran is the only Persian Gulf nation with a submarine force); the IRGC Navy is tasked with protecting primarily the Iranian littoral waters in the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz and employs a force of mostly small, fast attack vessels armed with a variety of weapons systems including anti-ship missiles 

Iran’s air and air defense capabilities are split primarily across three services: the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF) and the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Defense Force (IRIADF), both under the Artesh, and the IRGC Aerospace Force (IRGCASF); the IRIAF operates the majority of Iran’s combat aircraft and has more than 200 such aircraft, a considerable portion of which are older US models acquired before the 1979 revolution; the remainder includes older Chinese-, French-, and Russian-produced aircraft; the IRIADF controls the country’s surface-to-air missile capabilities; the IRGCASF operates some ground attack aircraft and most of Iran’s unmanned aerial vehicles; it also controls Iran’s cruise and ballistic missile force (2023)