Iran: NATIONAL SECURITY

Armed Forces Overview: In 2005 the armed forces, under a unified command with the faqih as commander in chief, included about 540,000 active personnel in the regular forces and 120,000 in the auxiliary Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Since the Iran-Iraq War of 1980–88, a main policy goal has been to be as independent as possible of alliances and foreign arms supplies. Accordingly, Iran has eschewed military alliances, although it has reached military supply agreements with a number of countries. Modernization of the navy, seen as vital for protecting interests in the Persian Gulf, is a high priority. Iran has purchased submarines and surface vessels from abroad and manufactures tanks, artillery, medium-range missiles, and helicopters. Technology purchased from North Korea and China, and refined by the domestic defense industry, supports a growing missile force that is considered the most important element of air defense policy.

Foreign Military Relations: In 2001 Iran signed a 10-year military-technical agreement with Russia that included assistance in aircraft maintenance and design estimated to be worth US$4 billion. In 2002 Iran signed a defense cooperation agreement with India. The latter agreement allows India to use Iranian military facilities in case of a war with Pakistan and provides Iran with Indian technical assistance in the building of aircraft and tanks. North Korea has supplied Iran with an unknown amount of technical assistance and equipment supporting the development of Iran’s Shahab-3 ballistic missile.

External Threat: In 2003 the removal of Saddam Hussein from the presidency of Iraq eliminated a major regional threat, although during the 1990s United Nations sanctions on Iraq had limited the possibility of conflict. The events of 2003 replaced Saddam’s threat with the large-scale, potentially long-term presence of the United States, a country that Iran officially considers its primary enemy. That event compounded the worry caused by the entry of U.S. forces into Afghanistan, to Iran’s east, in 2001. Iran also considers Israel a major threat because Israel often has threatened an air strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Defense Budget: Iran’s defense budget for 2004 was estimated at US$3.5 billion, which was a slight increase over the 2003 level of US$3.0 billion. The 2002 budget also was US$3.0 billion. Between 2000 and 2002, defense expenditures rose from 3.3 percent to 4.8 percent as a percentage of the gross domestic product.

Major Military Units: In 2005 the army had about 350,000 active personnel assigned to four armored divisions, six infantry divisions, two commando divisions, one airborne brigade, and five artillery groups. The navy had about 18,000 active personnel in 2005, of whom 2,000 were in naval aviation and 2,600 in marine units. The navy operates bases at Bandar-e Abbas, Bushehr, Khark Island, Bandar-e Anzelli, Bandar-e Khomeini, Bandar-e Mahshahr, and Chabahar. The air force had about 52,000 active personnel in 2005, including 15,000 assigned to air defense units. Air force combat forces were organized in nine ground-attack fighter squadrons, five fighter squadrons, and one reconnaissance squadron. In addition, in 2005 the ground forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) included an estimated two armored, five mechanized, and 10 infantry divisions and one special forces and 15 to 20 independent brigades. The IRGC also included one brigade of marines.

Major Military Equipment: In 2005 the army had 1,613 main battle tanks, 210 armored infantry fighting vehicles, 300 armored personnel carriers, 2,010 pieces of towed artillery, 310 pieces of self-propelled artillery, 976 multiple rocket launchers, 5,000 mortars, 12 to 18 surface-to-surface missiles, 75 antitank guided weapons, and 1,700 antiaircraft guns. The navy had 3 submarines, 3 frigates, 56 patrol and coastal combatants, 7 mine warfare vessels, and 10 amphibious vessels. The air force ground-attack fighter units had F–4D, F–4E, F–5E, Su–24MK, Su–25K, and Mirage F–1E aircraft; the fighter units had F–14, F–7M, and MiG–29A aircraft. The air force also had 34 helicopters.

Military Service: Males are legally eligible for conscription between ages 18 and 50, for an active service term of 21 months, followed by voluntary reserve service. Individuals may volunteer for active duty at age 16. About 80 percent of army personnel are conscripts, as are 60 percent of the Revolutionary Guards; navy and air force personnel are mainly volunteers.

Paramilitary Forces: The volunteer paramilitary force, the Popular Mobilization Army, or Basij, includes an estimated 300,000 personnel, mainly youths, with an estimated capability to expand to 1 million if needed. The Basij are under the authority of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Military Forces Abroad: In 2005 Iran had about 150 Revolutionary Guard Corps personnel in Lebanon, military advisers in Sudan, and three observers with the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea.

Police: About 40,000 police serve under the Ministry of Interior, including border patrol personnel. The Police-110 unit specializes in rapid-response activities in urban areas and dispersing gatherings deemed dangerous to public order. Marine police have 90 inshore patrol and 40 harbor boats. In 2003 some 400 women became the first female members of the police force since the 1978–79 Revolution.

Internal Threat: Despite strong government countermeasures, Iran is a main transit country for narcotics from neighboring Afghanistan and Pakistan and destined for Europe, Central Asia, and the Gulf region. Considerable quantities of these narcotics are sold illegally in Iran and are the main source of a serious and growing addiction problem. In 2005 Iran had the highest rate of opium addiction in the world, and illegal drug sales in Iran were estimated to value US$10 billion. In the early 2000s, other types of smuggling increased rapidly, especially in Iran’s impoverished border provinces. Corruption in the border police is a major factor in this trade. The Iraq-based Mojahedin-e Khalq (National Liberation Army) seeks the removal of the Iranian regime by armed action, and its methods include the use of terrorist tactics. However, its activities inside Iran have been minimized by a domestic crackdown and by the fall of its patron, Saddam Hussein. Smaller insurgent groups are the People’s Fedayeen, Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdestan, and Komala. The Paris-based National Council of Resistance of Iran is the umbrella group of the Mojahedin-e Khalq for overseas opposition groups.

Terrorism: During 2005 several incidents of domestic terrorism occurred using bombs planted in public places; most of these were in areas of ethnic tensions, such as West Azerbaijan (Kurds and Turks) and Khuzestan (Arabs and Lurs) provinces, although there also were bomb incidents in Tehran during the presidential election. Although Iran has consistently condemned all terrorist actions abroad, including those carried out against Israel, the U.S. Department of State named Iran the most active state sponsor of terrorism in the year 2004. Israel and the United States have contended that Iran has supplied funding, havens, training, and weapons for the Lebanese Hezbollah and Palestinian groups such as Hamas and the Palestine Islamic Jihad.

Human Rights: International human rights organizations have cited major abuses in Iran’s judicial system. Violations listed include arbitrary arrest, lack of due process, denial of access to attorneys, restrictions on family visits, prolonged periods in solitary confinement, and inhumane punishments in unofficial detention centers. Prison conditions are poor, particularly regarding food and medical care. The government has acknowledged its policy of incarcerating political enemies. The paramilitary Basij sometimes monitor behavior in public spaces and are authorized to detain individuals deemed in violation of dress codes.

After a period of liberalization in the first regime of President Khatami (1997–2001), in the early 2000s government control of the media grew noticeably more stringent. The government controls all television and radio broadcast facilities. Domestic and foreign publications and films are censored. The State also filters Internet content.

Members of religions not specifically protected by the constitution (Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism) do not have full rights to assemble. Iran’s estimated 300,000 Bah’ais are people most affected by this lack of protection and in the past have been subjected to legal and religious discrimination.

The Family Protection Law of 1967, which had extended some rights to women, was repealed after the 1978–79 Revolution. Marriage law discriminates against women in divorce, child custody, and inheritance from deceased spouses. In theory a man may have as many as four wives at one time, provided he has the written consent of his wives; temporary marriages also are permitted, although they do not provide women with the same legal rights as permanent marriages. Court testimony by a woman is regarded as worth one-half that of a man. Although women have equal access to education, social and legal conditions limit their professional activities.

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