Military branches: Islamic Republic of Iran regular forces (includes
Ground Forces, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces), Revolutionary Guards
(includes Ground, Air, Navy, Qods, and Basij-mobilization-forces), Law
Enforcement Forces
Military manpower-military age: 21 years of age
Military manpower-availability: males age 15-49: 16,270,295 (1998 est.)
Military manpower-fit for military service: males: 9,672,021 (1998 est.)
Military manpower-reaching military age annually: males: 671,734 (1998 est.)
Military expenditures-dollar figure: according to official Iranian data, Iran budgeted 8,283.9 billion rials for defense in 1997; note-conversion of defense expenditures into US dollars using current exchange rates could produce misleading results
@Iran:Transnational Issues
Disputes-international: Iran and Iraq restored diplomatic relations in 1990 but are still trying to work out written agreements settling outstanding disputes from their eight-year war concerning border demarcation, prisoners-of-war, and freedom of navigation and sovereignty over the Shatt al Arab waterway; Iran occupies two islands in the Persian Gulf claimed by the UAE: Lesser Tunb (called Tunb as Sughra in Arabic by UAE and Jazireh-ye Tonb-e Kuchek in Persian by Iran) and Greater Tunb (called Tunb al Kubra in Arabic by UAE and Jazireh-ye Tonb-e Bozorg in Persian by Iran); it jointly administers with the UAE an island in the Persian Gulf claimed by the UAE (called Abu Musa in Arabic by UAE and Jazireh-ye Abu Musa in Persian by Iran)-over which Iran has taken steps to exert unilateral control since 1992, including access restrictions and a military build-up on the island; the UAE has garnered significant diplomatic support in the region in protesting these Iranian actions; Caspian Sea boundaries are not yet determined among Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan
Illicit drugs: illicit producer of opium poppy for the domestic and international drug trade; net opiate importer but also a key transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin to Europe
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