See in this story what kind of military powers Iran and Israel are.
Iran’s missile attack on Israel yesterday raised fears of a wider war in the Middle East again. On Tuesday, Iran launched 180 ballistic missiles towards Israel. Israel says it will retaliate against Iran’s missile attack.
At the same time, Israel has struck hard in Lebanon at the heart of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah organization.
What kind of armed forces are facing each other in the Middle East now?
Military spending
The Israeli army is one of the most powerful in the world. Although the country is small, it is militarily superior to other states in the Middle East.
Israel has an annual budget of 22 billion euros military budget and access to the most advanced weapons in the United States. In 2023, the army’s annual budget exceeded the military expenditures of Iran, Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan combined.
Iran, on the other hand, spends 9 billion euros a year on its military’s strike capability. That’s less than half of Israel’s military spending.
Air force
of Israel with the air force has about 612 aircraft, including advanced fighters. The Iranian Air Force, on the other hand, has approx 551 aircraftbut their technology is significantly older than that of Israeli fighters.
With the help of the United States, Israel has created the strongest air force in the Middle East. of Israel fighter pilots perform combat missions practically all the time.
However, Iran has the largest missile stockpile in the Middle East. It has about 3,000 ballistic missiles at its disposal, with which it can strike at a distance of up to 2,000 kilometers. In addition, Iran is capable of shooting down thousands of drones.
Israel has an effective, multiple missile defense system, the most famous of which is Iron Dome anti-missile system i.e. “iron dome”.
According to the Israeli Defense Forces, the system repelled almost all missiles fired by Iran on Tuesday. Only a few went through the Israeli defenses, but they did not cause significant damage.
US support for Israel
Israel has been developing its military for decades. Right now Israel is fighting on many fronts: Gaza and Lebanon. It also conducts military operations in the West Bank and has struck several Houthi rebel targets in Yemen.
This map shows Israel’s military operations along its borders.
The United States is by far Israel’s largest arms supplier. The US provides Israel with nearly 3.5 billion euros in military aid annually under a 10-year agreement.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). The United States accounted for 69 percent of Israel’s major arms imports between 2019 and 2023.
The second largest arms exporter to Israel is Germany. According to SIPRI, Germany’s share of Israel’s arms imports between 2019 and 2023 was 30 percent. Germany has steadfastly supported Israel’s right to self-defense.
The third biggest seller of arms to Israel is Italy. It exports helicopters and naval artillery to Israel, among other things.
Also, the Iranian military does not depend solely on the state budget. based in Washington Foundation for Defense of Democracies – according to the think tank, the Iranian military owns thousands of stock companies that generate income for the armed forces.
Nuclear weapons
Israel is believed to have dozens of nuclear warheadsalthough it has never admitted it. In addition, it has thousands of personnel carriers and tanks, artillery, missiles, fighter jets, helicopters, warships and drones. The army has about 2,200 tanks alone.
Israel also has a large US weapons depot established in 1984. The US has stockpiled supplies for its forces in case of regional conflict and to give Israel quick access to weapons in emergencies.
There is also no certainty about Iran’s nuclear weapons or the possibility of producing them.
According to a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iran has enriched more nuclear-grade uranium since last May. to monitor Iran’s nuclear program by Iran Watch according to the country has the capabilities to enrich uranium suitable for nuclear weapons up to three nuclear weapons per week.
Number of troops
Iran has significantly more soldiers than Israel.
Like Finland, the Israeli army is based on compulsory military service. With it, Israel maintains approx 500,000 soldiers reserve.
There are soldiers on active duty 170,000. A large number of them are in conscript service.
Iran’s military has 610,000 of a soldier. When war broke out, both armies would swell with reservists and volunteers. Iran’s population is ten times larger than Israel’s, so Iran has a larger pool of people to choose from.
Since the attack by Hamas, Israel has called up 360,000 reservists. It is one of the largest business launches in the country’s history.
However, a ground war between the two countries is almost impossible because Israel and Iran do not have a common land border.