Iran’s geography and boundaries
Region | West Asia |
Borders | East: Afghanistan and Pakistan, West: Turkey and Iraq, North: Caspian Sea, South: Gulf of Oman and Persian Gulf, North-west: Armenia and Azerbaijan, North-east: Turkmenistan |
Maritime Boundaries | UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, and Bahrain |
What weapons does Iran military have?
Land Forces Assets
Iran has a range of armoured vehicles and artillery to call upon to serve combat needs. Listed below are the assets owned by Iranian Army.
Category | Models |
Main Battle Tanks | Zulfiqar, T-72S, T-62, T-55, T-59, M47/48, M60A1, Karrar (in production) |
Self-Propelled Howitzers | M109 |
Towed Artillery | GHN-45 |
Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) | Fajr-5 |
Amphibious Infantry Fighting Vehicles | BMP-2 |
Armoured Personnel Carriers | BTR-60, Boraq |
Iran’s combat aircraft
Aircraft Name | Type | Procured from |
F-14A/AM Tomcat | Fighter | US |
Shenyang J-6 / F-6 Farmer | Fighter | China |
Su-22 Fitter | Fighter-bomber | Iraq |
Su-24MK Fencer | Fighter-bomber | Russia and Iraq |
F-4D/E Phantom II | Multi-role fighter | US |
Mirage F1 | Multi-role fighter | Iraq |
F-7N Airguard | Multi-role fighter | China |
MiG-29 Fulcrum A | Multi-role fighter | Russia and Iraq |
F-5E/F Tiger II | Multi-role fighter | US |
Support aircraft/Helicopters
Aircraft | Role |
EMB-312 Tucano | Trainer and light attack |
Su-25 | Close air support |
IL-76 | Transport |
An-74 | Transport |
Dassault Falcon 20 | Transport and utility |
Boeing CH-47 Chinook | Transport |
Bell 214 | Search and rescue/transport |
Bell 212 | Transport |
Toofan | Attack helicopter |
Mi-8/Mi-17 | Transport |
UAV platforms owned by Iran military
Iran also operates several armed and unarmed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) for ISR and strike missions, as below.
Platform | Role | Endurance | Payload capacity | Altitude | Range | Known combat use |
Ababil-2 | Multi-role | Up to two hours | 40kg | 3,000m | 100km | 2006 Lebanon War |
Ababil-3 | Intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) | Four hours | – | 5,000m | 100km | Iraqi civil war, Syrian civil war |
Qasef-1 | Multi-role | 30-45kg | Up to 150km | |||
Mohajer-2 | ISR | 1.5 hours | 15kg | 3,350m | 50km | |
Mohajer-4 | ISR | 7 hours | 5,486m | 150km | Civil wars in Iraq and Syria | |
Mohajer-6 | Multi-role, including ISR and air-to-ground strike | 12 hours | 40kg | 5,486m | 200km | Used against militants and terrorist groups in Iran |
Shahed-129 | Multi-role, including ISR and air-to-ground strike | 24 hours | 400kg | 7,300m | 1,700km | Syrian civil war |
Shahed-123 | ISR | |||||
Karrar | Multi-role | 500km (combat range) |
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By GlobalDataMissiles owned by Iranian defence
Iran’s missile arsenal includes close-range ballistic missiles (CRBMs), short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs), and medium-range ballistic missiles (MRBMs), which can hit targets at a maximum range of 2,000km, as far as Israel and south-eastern Europe.
Some of the major missiles Iran possesses include short-range Fateh-series missiles, Shahab-series, Nazeat, and Dezful, among others. Most of the missiles the country has are ballistic surface-to-surface missiles.
Missile | Based Model | Category | Range | Warhead |
Shahab-1 | Soviet Scud-B | SRBM | Up to 350km | 1,000kg |
Shahab-2 | Scud-C | SRBM | 500km | 770kg |
Shahab-3 | No Dong (NK) | MRBM | 2000km | Up to 1,200kg |
Fateh-110 | Zelzal 2 | SRBM | 300km | 650kg |
Fateh-313 | SRBM | 500km | – | |
Qiam-1/ Qiam-1 ER | Derived from Shahab-2 | SRBM | 750km-900km | 750kg |
Khorramshahr | North Korean Musudan | MRBM | 2,000km | 1,800kg |
Emad-1 | Shahab-3 variant with a manoeuvrable reentry vehicle for increased precision | MRBM | up to 2,000km | 750kg |
Zolfaghar | Fateh-110 family variant with a submunition warhead | SRBM | 700km | |
Dezful | Upgrade on Zolfaghar | MRBM | 1,000km | |
Sejil-1 | MRBM | 2,000-2,400km | ||
Sejil-2 | MRBM | Up to 2,500km | ||
Sejil-3 (Reportedly set to be the first IRBM) | IRBM | Up to 4,000km | ||
Hoveyzeh | Part of Soumar cruise missile family | 1,350km | ||
Soumar | MRBM | Up to 3,000km |
Air defence systems
System | Origin | Type | Range |
SA-20c | Exported version of the Russian S-300PMU-2 missile defence system | Long-range strategic surface-to-air missile | 200km |
Bavar-373 | Developed in Iran (claimed to offer better capabilities than S-300) | Long-range strategic surface-to-air missile | 200km |
Rapier | UK | Short-range surface-to-air missiles | 10km |
Almaz S-200 Angara (SA-5 Gammon) | Soviet Union | Long-range strategic surface-to-air missile | Up to 180km |
MIM-23 Hawk | US | Medium-range surface-to-air missile | 50km |
Mersad | Iran | Medium-range air defence system (fires Shahin missiles) | 45km |
Raad and Khordad-3 | Iran | Medium-range air defence system | 50-75km |
Naval assets
Submarines | Russian-built Kilo-class attack submarines, Ghadir midget submarine (based on North Korean-designed Yono-class), Nahang midget submarines, and Fateh-class coastal submarine |
Surface Combatants | Vosper Mk 5-class, frigates, Jamaran-class frigates and Sahand-class frigate |
Missile/Patrol Boats | Chinese-built Houdong missile boats and La Combattante class (Kaman class) patrol craft |
Other Platforms | Fast attack craft (FAC), fast inshore attack craft (FIAC) |
Naval missiles
The Iranian Navy also has a range of anti-ship and coastal defence missiles.
Missile | Type | Range |
Noor | Coastal defence cruise missile | Up to 170km |
Ghader/Qader | Anti-ship cruise missile | 200km |
Ghadir | Anti-ship cruise missile | 300km |
Nasr | Short-range anti-ship missile | 35km |
Jask-2 (in production phase) | Submarine-launched anti-ship cruise missile | |
Khalij Fars (based on Fateh-110) | Ballistic missile with infrared seeker | 300km |
Hormuz-1 | Anti-radar ballistic missile | |
Hormuz-2 | Active radar-guided ballistic missile | 300km |
Iran’s nuclear capabilities
Although Iran does not have any known nuclear weapons in its inventory, it has the ability to assemble a nuclear bomb with the available uranium stockpile.