Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran The Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran ( ) include the IRIA ( ) and the IRGC ( ) and the Law Enforcement Force ( ) . These forces total about 545 , 000 active personnel ( not including the Law Enforcement Force ) . All branches of armed forces fall under the command of General Headquarters of Armed Forces ( ) . The Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics is responsible for planning logistics and funding of the armed forces and is not involved with in - the - field military operational command . Iran ' s military was called the Middle East ' s most powerful by General John Abizaid , Commander , United States Central Command ( U . S . forces ' commander in the region ) . However , General Abizaid said he did not include the Israel Defense Forces as they did not fall into his area of operations . History . When the Pahlavi dynasty took power in 1925 , following years of war with Russia , the standing Persian army was almost non - existent . The new king Reza Shah Pahlavi , was quick to develop a new military . In part , this involved sending hundreds of officers to European and American military academies . It also involved having foreigners re - train the existing army within Iran . In this gap the Iranian Air Force was established and the foundation for a new Navy was laid . Britain and the Soviet Union invaded Iran in 1941 in order to secure the area from German interventions . Following World War II , 1500 Iranian troops supported the Sultan of Oman against the Dhofar Rebellion from 1962 – 1975 . In 1971 , Iranian forces besieged Abu Musa and the Tunb islands . Before the Islamic revolution of 1979 , Iran contributed to United Nations peacekeeping operations . Iran joined ONUC in the Congo in the 1960s , and ten years later , Iranian troops joined UNDOF on the Golan Heights . With the Iranian revolution in 1979 , deteriorating relations with the United States resulted in international sanctions led by the USA , including an arms embargo being imposed on Iran . Revolutionary Iran was taken by surprise , by the Iraqi invasion that began the Iran – Iraq War of 1980 – 1988 . During this conflict , there were several confrontations with the United States . From 1987 , the United States Central Command sought to stop Iranian mine - laying vessels from blocking the international sea lane s through the Persian Gulf in Operation Prime Chance . The operation lasted until 1989 . On April 18 , 1988 , the U . S . retaliated for the Iranian mining of the in Operation Praying Mantis . Simultaneously , the Iranian armed forces had to learn to maintain and keep operational , their large stocks of U . S . - built equipment and weaponry without outside help , due to American sanctions . Reaching back on equipment purchased from the U . S . A . in the 1970s , the Iranians began establishing their own armaments industry ; their efforts in this remained largely unrecognised internationally , until recently . However , Iran was able to obtain limited amounts of American - made armaments , when it was able to buy American spare parts and weaponry for its armed forces , during the Iran - Contra affair . At first , deliveries came via Israel and later , from the USA . The Iranian government established a five - year rearmament program in 1989 to replace worn - out weaponry from the Iran - Iraq war . Iran spent $ 10 billion between 1989 and 1992 on arms . Iran ordered weapons designed to prevent other naval vessels from accessing the sea , including submarines and long - range Soviet planes capable of attacking aircraft carriers . A former military - associated police force , the Iranian Gendarmerie , was disbanded in 1990 . In 1991 , the Iranian armed forces received a number of Iraqi aircraft fleeing from the Persian Gulf war of that year ; most of which were incorporated into the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force . From 2003 , there have been repeated U . S . and British allegations that Iranian forces have been covertly involved in the Iraq War . In 2007 , Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces also took prisoner Royal Navy personnel when a boarding party from was seized in the waters between Iran and Iraq , in the Persian Gulf . According to Juan Cole , Iran has never launched an " aggressive war " in modern history , and its leadership adheres to a doctrine of " no first strike " . The country ' s military budget is the lowest per capita in the Persian Gulf region besides the UAE . Since 1979 , there are no foreign military bases present in Iran . According to Article 146 of the Iranian Constitution , the establishment of any foreign military base in the country is forbidden , even for peaceful purposes . Structure . It has been reported that Iran is one of the five countries having a Cyber - army capable of conducting cyber - warfare operations . It has also been reported that Iran has immensely increased its cyberwarfare capability since the post presidential election un - rest . Furthermore China has accused United States of having initiated a cyber war against Iran , through sites such as Twitter and YouTube and employing a hacker brigade for the purpose of fomenting unrest in Iran . It has also been reported in early 2010 , that two new garrisons for cyberwarfare have been established at Zanjan and Isfahan . Budget . Iran ' s 2007 defense budget was estimated to be $ 7 . 31 billion by London ' s International Institute for Strategic Studies . This was $ 102 per capita , a lower figure than other Persian Gulf nations and lower as a percentage of gross national product than all other Persian Gulf states ( 2 . 6 % of GDP in 2007 ) . This makes Iran ' s ranking the 25th largest defense expenditure globally . According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute the 2008 military expenditure was $ 9 . 174 billion , 2 . 7 % of the GDP . On February 2012 President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad presented the administration ’ s draft of the national budget bill for Iranian calendar year 1391 which shows an increase of 127 percent for defense budget . Defense industry . Under the last Shah of Iran , Mohammad Reza Pahlavi , Iran ' s military industry was limited to assembly of foreign weapons . In the assembly lines that were put up by American firms , such as Bell , Litton and Northrop , Iranian workers put together a variety of helicopters , aircraft , guided missiles , electronic components and tanks . In 1973 the Iran Electronics Industries ( IEI ) was established . The company was set up in a first attempt to organize the assembly and repair of foreign - delivered weapons . The Iranian Defense Industries Organization was the first to succeed in taking a step into what could be called a military industry by reverse engineering Soviet RPG - 7 , BM - 21 , and SAM - 7 missiles in 1979 . Nevertheless , most of Iran ' s weapons before the Islamic revolution were imported from the United States and Europe . Between 1971 and 1975 , the Shah went on a buying spree , ordering $ 8 billion in weapons from the United States alone . This alarmed the United States Congress , which strengthened a 1968 law on arms exports in 1976 and renamed it the Arms Export Control Act . Still , the United States continued to sell large amounts of weapons to Iran until the 1979 Islamic Revolution . After the Islamic revolution , Iran found itself severely isolated and lacking technological expertise . Because of economic sanctions and a weapons embargo put on Iran by the United States , it was forced to rely on its domestic arms industry for weapons and spare parts , since there were very few countries willing to do business with Iran . The Islamic Revolutionary Guards were put in charge of creating what is today known as the Iranian military industry . Under their command , Iran ' s military industry was enormously expanded , and with the Ministry of Defense pouring investment into the missile industry , Iran soon accumulated a vast arsenal of missiles . Since 1992 , it also has produced its own tanks , armored personnel carriers , radar system s , guided missiles , submarines , military vessels and fighter planes . In recent years , official announcements have highlighted the development of weapons such as the Fajr - 3 ( MIRV ) , Hoot , Kowsar , Fateh - 110 , Shahab - 3 missile systems and a variety of unmanned aerial vehicles , at least one of which Israel claims has been used to spy on its territory . In 2006 , an Iranian UAV acquired and allegedly tracked the American aircraft carrier for 25 minutes without being detected , before returning safely to its base . On November 2 , 2012 , Iran ' s Brigadier General Hassan Seifi reported that the Iranian Army had achieved self - suffiency in producing military equipment , and that the abilities of Iranian scientists have enabled the country to make significant progress in this field . He was quoted saying , " Unlike Western countries which hide their new weapons and munitions from all , the Islamic Republic of Iran ' s Army is not afraid of displaying its latest military achievements and all countries must become aware of Iran ' s progress in producing weaponry . " Ballistic program . On November 2 , 2006 , Iran fired unarmed missiles to begin 10 days of military simulation s . Iranian state television reported " dozens of missiles were fired including Shahab - 2 and Shahab - 3 missiles . The missiles had ranges from 300 km to up to 2 , 000 km . Iranian experts have made some changes to Shahab - 3 missiles installing cluster warhead s in them with the capacity to carry 1 , 400 bombs . " These launches come after some United States - led military exercises in the Persian Gulf on October 30 , 2006 , meant to train for blocking the transport of weapons of mass destruction . Iran is also believed to have started the development of an ICBM / IRBM missile project , known as Ghadr - 110 with a range of 3000 km ; the program is paralleled with advancement of a satellite launcher named IRIS . Weapons of mass destruction . Iran ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention in 1997 . Iranian troops and civilians suffered tens of thousands of casualties from Iraqi chemical weapon s during the 1980 - 88 Iran – Iraq War . As a result , Iran has publicly stood against the use of chemical weapons , making numerous negative comments against Iraq ' s use of such weapons in international forums . Even today , more than twenty - four years after the end of the Iran – Iraq War , about 30 , 000 Iranians are still suffering and dying from the effects of chemical weapons employed by Iraq during the war . The need to manage the treatment of such a large number of casualties has placed Iran ’ s medical specialists in the forefront of the development of effective treatment regimens for chemical weapons victims , and particularly for those suffering from exposure to mustard gas . Iran ratified the Biological Weapons Convention in 1973 . Iran has advanced biological and genetic engineering research programs supporting an industry that produces vaccine s for both domestic use and export . Military aid to Syria & Hezbollah . In 2012 and 2013 , Iran was reported to supply money , equipment , technological expertise and unmanned aerial vehicles ( a . k . a . ' drones ' ) to Syria ' s Assad regime and Lebanon ' s Hezbollah during the Syrian civil war .