The Armed Forces of the Imperial State of Iran (Persian: نيروهای مسلح کشور شاهنشاهی ايران) include the ISIA (ارتش کشور شاهنشاهی ایران), the IIGC (سپاه پاسداران جاودان سلطنتی) and the Law Enforcement Force (شهربانی مملکت شاهنشاهی ایران).
These forces total about 650,000 active personnel (not including the Law Enforcement Force). All branches of armed forces fall under the command of General Headquarters of Armed Forces (ستاد
Imperial Iranian Ministry of War
کل نیروهای مسلح). The Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics is responsible for planning logistics and funding of the armed forces and is not involved with in-the-field military operational command.
Wars
- Repress of Azerbaijan Uprising
- Dhofar War
- Iran-Soviet War
- The Second Korean War
- The Persian Gulf War
- UN Peace Keeping Mission in Bosnia
- Iraq War
Imperial Iranian Army
Imperial Iranian Army Coat of Arm
the Army is a largely mechanised and armoured force of about 385,000 troops; organised in 4 corps, with 2 headquarters in Tehran,1 in Shiraz in the south, and 1 in Kermanshah near the Iraqi border. There are additional plans for a fourth corps to be established at the Chah Bahar complex, at the eastern end of the Persian Gulf.
Its major formations includ the following:
- Three armoured divisions (plus one more being organised in Sistan Baluchestan, possibly the 88th Armoured Division): each with six tank battalions and five mechanised infantry battalions,
- Three infantry divisions,
- Two foreign bases (one in Oman and another in South Korea)
- Four independent brigades (1 armoured, 1 infantry, 1 airborne and 1 special forces)
- Imperial Iranian Army Aviation with 200 plus, helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft.
These combat units, backed up by the usual complement of support units, are said to be 95 percent operational.
Iranian AH-1 Super Cobra
Imperial Iranian Navy Coat of Arm
Imperial Iranian Navy, also called Iranian Royal Navy, tasked mainly with securing Iran's ports and coastline. Over time, the Iranian Navy has changed its mission to primarily anti-piracy beyond the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman. The bulk of the fleet has been shifted from Khorramshahr to the new headquarters at Bandar-e Abbas since 1977. Bushehr is the other main base; smaller facilities were located at Khorramshahr, Khark Island, and Bandar-e Shahpur. Bandar-e Pahlavi is the major training base and home of the small Caspian Sea fleet, which consisted of a few patrol boats and a minesweeper. The naval base at Bandar Chah-Bahar on the Gulf of Oman had been under construction since the late 1970s and in late 2014 still was not completed. Smaller facilities were located near the Strait of Hormuz. Iran also announced that new bases will be established on Oman Sea.
Khorramshahr Navy Base
Taftan Class Frigate, Iranian made frigate
Imperial Iranian Air Force
Imperial Iranian Air Force Coat of Arm
The Imperial Iran Air Force (IIAF) (Persian: نیروی هوایی سلطنتی ایران) is the aviation branch of the Iranian armed forces. The present Air Force came into being in the early 1960s when Mohammad Reza Shah bought a massive number of American-built aircraft.
The Air Force has attempt to maintain in service the large number of American-built aircraft which Iran acquired during the 1960-1990. The Air Force has turned to purchases of French, Chinese and Russian aircraft recently, as well as pressing ex-Iraqi aircraft into service, and indigenously built aircraft, in order to maintain a superior force.