Military
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: 17,203,360 (1999 est.)
Military manpower—fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 10,217,269 (1999 est.)
Military manpower—reaching military age annually:
males: 767,152 (1999 est.)
Military expenditures—dollar figure: $5.787 billion (FY98/99)
Military expenditures—percent of GDP: 2.9% (FY98/99)
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