Iran's Military Strategy & Power Projection - Drones, Proxies & Production under Sanctions

Compared to many of the other militaries we’ve looked at, Iran’s force structure and overarching strategy stands out. From its arsenal of Shah era weapons to its new generation of missiles, in this episode we did a bit deeper into Iran’s military capabilities, limitations, and the industrial capabilities behind them. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/PerunAU Relevant Reading/sourcing Platform figures per MB2022 as always for sake of consistency with my other works. IMF data on Iran https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/PCPIPCH@WEO/IRN?zoom=IRN&highlight=IRNv IAEA Director General’s Statement on Verification in Iran https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/pressreleases/iaea-director-generals-statement-on-verification-in-iran-0 Reporting on the IRGC vs Artesh budget https://www.defensenews.com/global/mideast-africa/2021/12/16/iran-more-than-doubles-revolutionary-guards-budget-in-fy22-bill/ CSIS – The Iranian Missile Threat – Anthony Cordesman https://www.csis.org/analysis/iranian-missile-threat CSIS – Missile Defence Project Iran https://missilethreat.csis.org/country/iran/ Iran friendly fire incident https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/11/iranian-navy-ship-hit-by-missile-in-fatal-friendly-fire-incident-in-gulf IAEA head on Iran https://www.reuters.com/world/world-must-not-fail-iran-it-did-north-korea-iaea-chief-says-2023-10-16/ Featured Times article on IRGC in Syria https://time.com/90807/iran-syria-revolutionary-guard/ IAEA reporting on Iran (Reuters) https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/iaea-reports-no-progress-iran-uranium-stock-enriched-60-grows-2023-09-04/ Iran missile test https://apnews.com/article/iran-khorramshahr-ballistic-missile-nuclear-tensions-017382e19220700c618eeb51d0bd8b94 FP – Iran is filling Armenia’s power vacuum https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/12/01/iran-armenia-azerbaijan-conflict-russia-nagorno-karabakh-syunik/ Reporting on Saudi-Iran détente https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/06/12/saudi-iran-rapprochement-normalization-deal-china-de-escalation-yemen-syria/ Fakour images https://irangeomil.blogspot.com/2018/07/analysis-fakour-air-to-air-missile.htmlv French statement on Iran’s nuclear program https://onu.delegfrance.org/we-remain-determined-that-iran-must-never-develop-a-nuclear-weapon-and-must CRS Reports: Iran and Nuclear Weapons Production https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF12106 Iran’s Nuclear Program – compliance with international obligations https://sgp.fas.org/crs/nuke/R40094.pdf Iran’s Nuclear Program and U.N. Sanctions Reimposition https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF11583 Michael Eisenstadt – IISS - Iran after Sanctions: Military Procurement and Force-Structure Decisions https://www.iiss.org/globalassets/media-library---content--migration/images/comment/analysis/2017/december/3-eisenstadt2125.pdf Michael Eisenstadt - Iranian military developments and trends https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/media/6362 Iran’s Foreign and Defence Policies https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R44017/80 Iran – Background and U.S. Policy https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R47321 Shaan Shaikh – CSIS – Iranian missiles in Iraq https://www.csis.org/analysis/iranian-missiles-iraq CSIS - The Iranian and Houthi War against Saudi Arabia https://csis-website-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/publication/211221_Jones_IranianHouthi_SaudiArabia.pdf?VersionId=fn1d98tAhj7yOUr.IncppMueLOC4kv83 Reuters on Iran backing Iraqi militia https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/exclusive-tactical-shift-iran-grows-new-loyal-elite-among-iraqi-militias-2021-05-21/ Khamenei praising Basij https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/irans-khamenei-praises-basij-forces-confronting-riots-tv-2022-11-26/ Reporting on the 2017 Iran political rift https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jun/22/rift-between-irans-ayatollah-and-re-elected-president-widens UK House of Commons Briefing on Iran’s nuclear program https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9870/ IranM2 data https://www.ceicdata.com/en/indicator/iran/money-supply-m2 Included article on sanctions sunset https://edition.cnn.com/2023/10/18/politics/us-sanctions-iran-jcpoa-transition-day/index.html Included article on Iran drone production https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/14/us-says-iran-becoming-a-drone-leader-as-russia-uses-its-craft-in-ukraine Source on included F-4 image https://www.key.aero/article/how-does-iran-manage-keep-its-ageing-f-4-phantom-iis-flying Caveats & Comments: All normal caveats and comments apply. In particular – I would like to note as always that this material has been created for entertainment purposes only. Timestamps 00:00:00 — Opening Words 00:01:26 — What Am I Talking About? 00:02:04 — History 00:09:24 — Position And Strategy 00:16:25 — The Force 00:28:47 — The Proxies 00:38:22 — Economy And Defence Production 00:49:40 — Production And Sanctions Busting 00:57:37 — Missiles And Drones 01:10:34 — Conclusion 01:11:30 — Channel Update