The specifics of religious influence in the state significantly affected various spheres of political and public life in Iran. National features have not bypassed the Armed Forces of Iran. The country's army is considered the most numerous among other states of the Middle and Near East. The current paramilitary staff managed to gain invaluable military experience over the course of 8 years during the war with Iraq - from 1980 to 1988. The fundamental factors in the creation of a powerful defensive base were the military-political independence of Iran, the economic potential and the originality of national religious values.
Sunni-Shia war
Due to the fact that the army was a direct participant in the Arab-Iranian conflict, it is of some importance to compare the Armed Forces of Iran and Saudi Arabia in the framework of the confrontation between the two branches of the Islamic faith. The confrontation between 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 the recent history of the world after the Second World War. Speaking against the Iranian Shiites, the Arabs actively used ballistic missiles against the civilian population.missiles, chemical weapons. More than 1 million people among civilians and those who represented the Armed Forces of Iran and Saudi Arabia were recognized as dead.
In addition, Iraq has benefited from the numerous support of neighboring Arab states. Iran has not forgotten about this.
Components of the Iranian Armed Forces
The Iranian Armed Forces, whose structure and organization is distinguished by the presence of two fundamental elements, is 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 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Both organizations have their own subsystem, consisting of ground forces, a powerful fleet and combat aviation. Each of them functions confidently both in wartime and in peacetime.
Among the components of the IRGC, it should be emphasized that there is a strategically important structure whose tasks include providing the main headquarters with data obtained during reconnaissance and sabotage activities. In addition to these Special Forces, the Law Enforcement Forces also constitute the Armed Forces. Iran especially needs the activities of specialized law enforcement agencies in wartime. At this time, they are managed by the General Staff of the Armed Forces.
Under the auspices of the IRGC organization, an additional unit of the people's militia was also created, called the "Islamic Army of 20 million", or the Forcesresistance and mobilization.
Powers of the spiritual leader of the state
According to the main statutory act of Iran, art. 110 states that the spiritual leader of the state and the nation as a whole is recognized as the Supreme Commander. In addition, by this Constitution, he was given the authority to manage and make the most important decisions in the military-political sphere of the republic. The main issues affecting the competence of the spiritual leader include:
- Declaration of war, peace and the beginning of nationwide mobilization.
- Selection, appointment, dismissal and acceptance of resignation of the heads of individual units and components that make up the Iranian Armed Forces: the command of the General Staff, the IRGC, the SOP, etc.
- Coordination, management and control over the work of the Supreme National Security Council. 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 industries.
IRI Supreme National Security Council
The main tasks of the latter structure are the development of protective measures consistent with the policy of the spiritual leader, and the coordination of social, economic, informational and cultural aspects of state activity with the security interests of the state.
The Iranian Armed Forces report directly to the Commander-in-Chief through the General Staff. In turn, the latter serves as the apparatus of administrative and operational managementonly 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, the SOP and decentralized local bodies of each of the listed links, which have their own purpose, composition and duties.
Iranian Ministry of Defense
The Ministry of Defense is not part of the Iranian Armed Forces. It has no direct relation to the immediate combat missions of the troops. The mission of the central executive body is:
- implementation of the construction of military facilities;
- drafting a budget intended only to finance the military industry;
- control over the targeted use of funds;
- support for the domestic defense industry;
- purchase and modernization of military equipment.
The number of military personnel and the number of military equipment
The total combined number of people in the Armed Forces, Iran can proudly boast: the average figure is equal to 700,000. Other sources provide slightly different figures: 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 combat aviation, then about 40 thousand military personnel represent the naval forces.
The inaccuracy of information can be easily explained by their inaccessibility and closeness in Iran. When the world community begins to be interested in the armed forces, Iran tightly closesin front of her are “information doors”. The main flow of data is being promoted from unofficial sources, therefore, distortions in the lists of personnel, weapons and equipment can often occur.
As for military equipment, here also among the countries of the Middle East, the Iranian Armed Forces hold the leading positions: tanks, according to some reports, are about 2000 units, about 2500 artillery pieces, about 900 MLRS, including "Grad", "Smerch", "Hurricane" and others. It is impossible not to mention 200 units of anti-ship missiles, 300 combat aircraft, 400 tactical and anti-aircraft missile launchers. This is not the whole list of equipment owned by the Iranian Armed Forces. Armored personnel carriers, infantry fighting vehicles, self-propelled artillery mounts, mortars - all of the above-mentioned weapons inspire confidence in the power of the country.
Education and training of personnel and officers
Professional development of personnel is an issue often on the agenda of the leadership in charge of 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, contributes to the establishment of a mechanism for the interaction of all units and military units of various types of troops.
Special attention in the educational process deserves discipline and classes to practice the actions of each person liable for military service in the conditions of guerrilla fighting, ifstates of the occupation regime as an enemy with ultra-modern weapons. In addition, if a military man does not meet the proper level of training after completing a military training course, this does not mean at all that he is not fit for military service. Religious attitudes and moral and psychological trainings will be able to compensate for such “gaps”. In the future, these people will be able to take part and organize the psychological operations of the Iranian Armed Forces.
The purpose of the IRGC
Considering the Armed Forces of Iran, one of their elements should be considered in more detail. Interestingly, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was originally created as a non-permanent formation in order to ensure domestic law and order. Formed more than 30 years ago, the IRGC was completely separate 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. In view of its predominance over the regular army in military, political and power capabilities, the leadership of the Iranian state prepared the corps for the main role in the system of the Armed Forces. For several years of the post-war period, a complex process of unhurried, but steady connection of the two fundamental structures of the paramilitary sphere of the state lasted. At the same time, a single Ministry of Defense for the corps and the army, the General Staff was formed. Definitely, the Iranian Armed Forces today have a complex apparatus anda successfully functioning Guardian Corps system, in many ways superior to that of the regular state army.
Some time after the appointment of a follower of the IRGC as the head of the IRI, rumors arose about a possible merger of the two main components of the country's military system, despite the fact that the supremacy would most likely be given to the corps.
Iranian nuclear weapons program
Since Iran is a nuclear state, missiles and the likelihood of their use is one of the main issues of the entire world community. Iran is capable of rebuffing the unpopular military decisions of the United States and Israel in relation to the state's nuclear program.
Specialists who analyze aspects of the armaments of the countries of the East believe that missile weapons for Iran are the most important element of manipulation and control over potential adversaries. By threatening to use missiles with nuclear warheads, the state is able to maintain supremacy in any situation. Not surprisingly, funding for the support and development of missile programs takes a significant share of the entire military budget. For example, in the early 1990s, in the post-war period, the state had many gaps in the socio-economic aspects of its life. At the same time, even then, emphasis was placed on optimizing this industry: the number of operational-tactical missiles significantly exceeded the number of such weapons in neighboring eastern states.
Features of the formation of weapons in Iran
Besides, goingalong the "nuclear" path, Iran faced many, at first glance, absolutely insurmountable difficulties. The country has not developed a research component, which includes scientific traditions, specialized training, and many years of experience. It was simply impossible to create innovative weapons in this way. It could not be on a par with the most complex achievements of the 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.
From here it follows that the priority direction in design work and scientific research is the cloning of imported weapons, and more often - the passage of modernization to meet Iranian needs. Exemplary material is Chinese, North Korean, Pakistani, American and Russian military products. This has been repeatedly confirmed by weapons experts. Iranian guns, being presented and shown for the first time, were immediately criticized by well-known military experts. Probably, Iran finds “sources for inspiration” by various methods: from illegal procurement schemes to obtained intelligence. In addition, agreements on military-technical cooperation signed bilaterally are of no small importance here.
The presence of significant difficulties did not prevent the country's leadership from creating a military research base and armed forces. Iranmoment has a sufficient number of scientific institutes, experimental 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 a great chance of obtaining an important basis for creating at the initial stage ballistic missiles with a medium range. Achieving such significant results will make it possible to get closer to the creation of intercontinental ballistic missiles. But for now, these are just plans. Today, Iran has modest missile equipment and a well-thought-out strategy.
Several missile brigades and their central command are subordinate to a spiritual leader - the Supreme Commander:
- Shahab-3D and Shahab-3M have an approximate range of 1300 km. They come with 32 launchers.
- Shahab-1 and Shahab-2 have a firing range of up to 700 km and 64 launchers.
- Tactical missiles.
Rocket launch process
Missile troops of the Armed Forces of the Iranian state, as a rule, use mobile installations for launching missiles. This fact has a positive effect on 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, fuel and lubricantsresources, aviation fuel, a developed communications system, and has its own infrastructure.
Missile complexes that take on duty order regularly change their actual location. The launchers are mostly disguised as mediocre trucks, which are accompanied by two also disguised vehicles. Each of the latter is secretly transporting 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 emerging 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.
