Military Iran
Military branches: Islamic Republic of Iran regular forces (includes
Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force and Air Defense Command), Iranian
Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) (includes Ground Forces, Air Force,
Navy, Qods [special operations], and Basij [Popular Mobilization Army]
forces), Law Enforcement Forces
Military manpower - military age: 21 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 18,868,571 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 11,192,731 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 823,041 (2002 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $9.7 billion (FY00)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 3.1% (FY00)
Transnational Issues Iran
Disputes - international: despite restored diplomatic relations in 1990, Iran lacks maritime boundary with Iraq and disputes land boundary, navigation channels, and other issues from eight-year war; UAE seeks United Arab League and other international support against Iran's occupation of Greater Tunb Island (called Tunb al Kubra in Arabic by UAE and Jazireh-ye Tonb-e Bozorg in Persian by Iran) and Lesser Tunb Island (called Tunb as Sughra in Arabic by UAE and Jazireh-ye Tonb-e Kuchek in Persian by Iran) and attempts to occupy completely a jointly administered island in the Persian Gulf (called Abu Musa in Arabic by UAE and Jazireh-ye Abu Musa in Persian by Iran); Iran insists on division of Caspian Sea into five equal sectors while Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan have generally agreed upon equidistant seabed boundaries; Iran threatens to conduct oil exploration in Azerbaijani-claimed waters, while interdicting Azerbaijani activities