ON
IRAN
1. This background paper is on Iran. It discusses the geography, military, and US interests within Iran.
2. Iran’s geography is very unique. It is a Middle Eastern country, bordered by Iraq, Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. It is also bordered by the Gulf of Oman, the Persian Gulf, and the Caspian Sea.1 Iran is also within proximity to the Strait of Hormuz, a heavily traveled, narrow passageway that measures 21 miles at its narrowest point, and separates the Gulf of Oman from the Persian Gulf.2 The total land mass is 1,531,595 square kilometers, making it roughly the size of the state of Alaska, and around two and a half times larger than the state of Texas.3 Iran features a variety of terrain types, to include, mountainous, central basin with deserts, and plains. Its climate is mostly arid, but contains a subtropical zone along the coast of the Caspian Sea. It has a vast amount of natural resources, to include petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, iron ore, lead, manganese, …show more content…
Iran has the fifth strongest military in the Middle East, following The United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Israel.5 Its military is divided into three divisions, The Islamic Republic of Iran Regular Forces, The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and the Law Enforcement Forces. The Islamic Republic of Iran Regular forces is structured like most other militaries, and consists of the Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force, and Air Defense. The IRGC is known for being Iran’s elite forces, and consists of the Ground Resistance Forces, Navy, Aerospace Force, and the Quds Force, the special operations unit.6 Iran possesses many imported weapons systems from various nations, and has established an in-house military industry, where they have developed a variety of weapons, to include tanks, artillery, ballistic missiles, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), surface ships, submarines, and anti-ship cruise