|
Iran
NATIONAL SECURITY
Armed Forces: In 1986 army, 305,000; navy, 14,500;
air force, 35,000. Two-thirds of army conscripted; majority of
navy and air force volunteers. Pasdaran (Revolutionary Guards)--approximately
350,000.
Combat Units and Major Equipment: (Note: because
of wartime losses, equipment estimates were highly tentative.)
Army had three mechanized divisions, each with three brigades--each
of which in turn had three armored and six mechanized battalions,
seven infantry divisions, one airborne brigade, one Special Forces
division composed of four brigades, one Air Support Command, some
independent armored brigades including infantry and "coastal force,"
twelve surface-to-air missile (SAM) battalions with improved Hawk
missiles, reserve Qods battalion of ex- servicemen, about 1,000
tanks, and about 320 combat helicopters. Navy had fifteen combat
vessels and thirty naval aircraft in 1986; by late 1987 only some
small patrol craft and a few Hovercraft believed operable; three
marine battalions; naval air had about thirty aircraft, mainly
helicopters. Air force consisted of eight fighter and fighter-bomber
squadrons, one reconnaissance squadron, two joint tanker-transport
squadrons, five light transport squadrons, and five SAM squadrons;
about ninety operational aircraft in 1986. Pasdaran had possibly
eight divisions loosely organized in eleven regional commands
and numerous independent brigades.
Paramilitary: Basij "Popular Mobilization Army"
volunteers--strength varied; in 1986 said to be 3 million.
Military Budget: (figures varied and unreliable)
In 1985-86 military budget estimated at US$14.1 billion; total
war-related expenses by 1987 estimated at US$100 billion.
Police and Internal Security Agencies: In 1986
Gendarmerie about 70,000, including border guard; National Police,
approximately 200,000; SAVAMA secret police, number unknown.
Data as of December 1987
|
