Nuclear Research Facilities (reported)

The Bushehr nuclear research facility originally contained two incomplete Siemens 1,250-MWe nuclear reactors built by the Germans in the 1970s. Both reactors, only 75 percent complete when the project was abandoned in 1979, were heavily damaged by Iraqi bombers during the Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988). According to reports, the reactor core areas of Unit 1 and Unit 2 were completely destroyed in the attacks. In January 1995, Russia and Iran signed an $800 million contract calling for completion of Unit 1 by 1999 and Unit 2 one to two years later. Two Russian-built VVER-1000 reactors were to replace the destroyed reactors. Construction of two new N-213-type VVER-440 Mwe reactors (Units 3 and 4) at an adjacent site was also studied. By mid-2002, 600 Russian specialists were working at Bushehr alongside hundreds of Russian-trained Iranian technicians. The sprawling 6th Fighter Base, home to two squadrons of F-4 and F-7 fighter aircraft, is located north of the Bushehr facility. Bushehr is also the site of Iran's "Nuclear Energy College."

In December 2002, the Russian Atomic Energy Agency said it had manufactured 180 fuel rods for the first reactor unit. The agreement calls for the spent fuel rods to be returned to Russia. Spent fuel rods can also be easily converted into plutonium, which can be used to make nuclear warheads.

The Bushehr facility is not yet operational, but it is anticipated it will be ready in September 2010. Russia apparently slowed its work on the facility in 2007, saying Iran had not paid its bills in full. Moscow did, however, begin delivering uranium to the facility in December 2007.

Natanz is the location of Iran's main uranium enrichment facility. By mid-2007, Iran had assembled and begun using more than 1,300 centrifuges into eight cascades. By early 2009, there were at least 5,000 centrifuges. The large facility is built partially underground, leading to questions about its declared peaceful purpose. When completed, Natanz is expected to be capable of producing enough weapons-grade uranium to build several nuclear weapons per year.

The existence of the enrichment facility at Qom was revealed in September 2009. Construction apparently began in 2005. Western intelligence agencies maintained that they had been monitoring the site for years. Iran publicly admitted to the site after discovering the surveillance. U.S. President Obama said the facility is designed to hold 3,000 centrifuges; it is built into a mountain.

Arak is the site of two heavy water facilities. One is a heavy water production facility, first disclosed by Iranian opposition groups. After the IAEA visited the site in February 2003, Iran said that it intended to use the heavy water to moderate a prospective research reactor in Arak. This facility opened in August 2006.

The second facility is a 40 MW heavy water reactor. Construction was scheduled to begin in 2004. Exactly when construction began is unclear, but commercially available satellite imagery indicated that it was well under way by early 2005. When completed, the Arak reactor will enable Iran to produce plutonium suitable for nuclear weapons assembly, perhaps one to two nuclear weapons annually per year. In August 2006, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that the reactor was scheduled to be opened in 2009, although the IAEA gave an expected commissioning date of 2011. The Iranians say the plant is intended for medical research and development.

Isfahan (GEMA Energy Center, University of Isfahan)

This facility contains a small 27-kW Chinese-built miniature neutron source reactor, electromagnetic isotope separator and "desk-top-sized" calutron. Construction of the underground facility began in late 1991 and was reportedly completed with Chinese assistance in March 1994. A related site near Isfahan reportedly houses a Chinese-built "nuclear starter device."

The center has a total of four small research reactors. A deal with the Chinese to build a uranium conversion plant at Isfahan was suspected to be part of Iran's nuclear weapons program, because Iran's civilian reactor at Bushehr does not require the uranium product that would be derived from the conversion plant.

Uranium hexafluoride gas is produced at Isfahan. The gas is then transferred to Natanz for enrichment.

A uranium mine and processing facility is located in Saghand, Yadz Province. Identified uranium ore deposits at this site exceed 3,000 tons, and undiscovered reserves are estimated at 7,500 tons. A yellowcake uranium plant also is located at Saghand. Smaller uranium deposits are located near Isfahan and in Azerbaijan, Khorasan and Sistan-va-Baluchestan.

In 2005, U.S. State Dept. officials used the capacity and production capabilities of Saghand to suggest that Iran could did not possess sufficient uranium reserves to achieve nuclear power self-sufficiency. They argued that Tehran would have to import outside sources of uranium if it truly intended to construct nuclear reactors for energy purposes, tending to discredit Iran's assertions it could profit from nuclear energy by opening up oil and natural gas reserves to the world market.

Ballistic Missile Programs

Iran has advanced capability in the area of ballistic missile production. Tehran's missile program includes copies of the Russian-made Scud (Shahab-2 in Iranian service) and North Korean No-dong (Shahab-3). Iran has also imported the Chinese M-7 solid-fuel missile, which has a 93-mile range. Iran's long-range rocket arsenal reportedly tripled in 2008.

Iran is also developing the Shahab-4 and Shahab-5, based on the North Korea's Taepo-dong missile, according to a report on foreign-missile development produced for the Central Intelligence Agency.

The acquisition in 2006 of BM-25 surface-to-surface missiles from North Korea increased the range of a potential Iranian strike. The BM-25 has a range of approximately 2,500 km.

Iran launched a satellite into orbit using a suborbital rocket in February 2007. Western analysts are concerned that the launch vehicle could be converted into an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) with a range of up to 2,500 miles (4,023 km).

"A reconnaissance satellite of reasonable performance should weigh about 300 kg (660 lb.)," said the former head of the Israel Missile Defense Organization Uzi Rubin, in a report for the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. "Once Iran learns how to put 300 kg. into earth orbit, it could adapt the satellite launcher into an ICBM that could drop more than 300 kg anywhere in the world." U.S. intelligence reported that Iran failed to put a dummy satellite into orbit on Aug. 16, 2008.

In September 2007, Iran displayed its new Ghadr -1 missile for the first time. The missile is believed to be an improved version of the Shahab series. Iran said the missile has a range of 1,800 km (1,100 miles).

The government announced the construction of the Ashura ballistic missile in November 2007. It reportedly has a range of 2,000 km (1,240 miles).

The solid-fuel Sajjil missile was successfully test-fired in November 2008. The Sajjil-2 was successfully test-fired in May and December 2009. Both have a range of 2,000 km (1,250 miles).

The U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency informed Congress in late 2006 that Iran could develop an ICBM with a range of 3,000 mi. (4,828 km) by 2015.

In July 2008, Iran released a photo purportedly showing the successful test-launch of four Shahab-3 missiles. The photo turned out to be a poorly Photoshopped image, a suspected attempt to cover up the misfiring of at least one weapon.

Plans and Programs
See separate ARMY, NAVY, AIR FORCE, and SPECIAL OPERATIONS FORCES entries for additional information.

LATEST UPDATE: 1 August 2010

© 2011 Military Periscope. All rights reserved. Redistribution of content is prohibited without prior consent of Military Periscope.

Navy

Armed Forces Structure
Equipment
Deployment
Issues and Notes
Plans and Programs
Armed Forces Structure
OVERVIEW

The maritime forces of Iran consist of the regular navy, a naval air arm and a naval infantry force. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRCG) or Pasdaran operates a separate naval force to reinforce the navy and marines. (See separate database entry for Iran/Special Operations Forces for additional information.)

The Iranian navy is organized into three operational zones: the Caspian Sea, Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean. Iran's operational headquarters is at Bandar Abbas, as is its primary ship-repair facility. A second operating base and ship-repair facility is located at Bushehr.

The naval infantry/marine force consists of two battalions with approximately 2,600 active troops. Although the marines are responsible for amphibious operations, it is the Revolutionary Guard Marine Force that carries out most of the amphibious special operations.

Three navy brigades and one Pasdaran brigade make up Iran's extensive coastal defense anti-ship missile system. At least 12 batteries of HY-2/HY-4 Silkworm and SS-N-22 Sunburn anti-ship missile sites are operational at sites along the Strait of Hormuz and on Kharg Island.
PERSONNEL STRENGTH

The total active strength of the Iranian navy is approximately 18,000 personnel, including the 2,600-strong naval air arm and 2,600 marines.

(For additional information on the equipment listed below search our Weapons Database.)

Iranian naval aviation operates two airbases. Operational units are assigned to the following locations:

"The Iranian navy is fully ready to confront any enemy threat or designs," said Iranian navy commander Rear Adm. Sajad Kouchaki in April 2007. "The navy's strategy is based on all-out defense of Iran's territorial waters, national interests and islands in the Persian Gulf region."

By early 2009, an Iranian warship was serving in the Gulf of Aden off the Somali coast on an anti-piracy mission. The Iranian government announced in May 2009 that it would send two warships to the region on five-month anti-piracy tours.

Plans and Programs
The navy has planned three new corvettes to be known as the ZOLFAQAR class. The first ship in the class, the MOUJ, entered service in 2006. The expected delivery date of the other ships is unknown.

A new indigenously developed torpedo boat called the JOSHAN entered service in September 2006.

An Iranian-built destroyer was reportedly commissioned in November 2007, along with a new class of submarine. Another submarine and two small missile boats were commissioned in November 2008.

The Iranian navy said it had successfully tested an indigenous high-speed torpedo during large-scale exercises in the Persian Gulf in early April 2006. The underwater missile travels at speeds up to 350 km/hour (217 mph), according to Iranian navy leaders.

In February 2008, the Iranian navy announced the delivery 74 new domestically produced gunboats intended for logistic and patrol operations in the Persian Gulf.

The GHADIR-class midget submarine began operations with the Iranian navy in 2009.

Iran's navy said it launched the first of its MOWDGE-class destroyers in February 2010. The vessel, dubbed the JAMARAN , is equipped with modern radars and electronic warfare capabilities. It can reportedly carry 120 to 140 personnel, has a top speed of 30 knots and is equipped with a helipad.

LATEST UPDATE: 1 August 2010

© 2011 Military Periscope. All rights reserved. Redistribution of content is prohibited without prior consent of Military Periscope.

Special Operation Forces

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), or Pasdaran Inqilab, was formed following the Islamic Revolution of 1979 in an effort to consolidate several paramilitary forces into a single force loyal to the new regime, and to counter the influence and power of the regular military.

The Pasdaran consists of ground, naval and aviation units that parallel the structure of the regular military.

The Pasdaran's naval wing operates largely from bases along the coastline of southern Iran and from many of the islands and oil production platforms that dot the Persian Gulf. Naval assets once under the control of the Pasdaran, including many small patrol boat and numerous coastal defense missile batteries, were transferred to or placed under joint operational control of the regular navy beginning in 1991. Many jointly controlled assets continue to be manned by Pasdaran personnel. In September 2008, Iran specifically charged the Pasdaran with the defense of the Persian Gulf.

The Basij (also known as the Popular Mobilization Army) is under the operational control of the Pasdaran, as are a number of units drawn from 175 of Iran's ancient tribes and clans.

A secret military organization known as the Guards Special Quds Force also is also under Pasdaran control. This force reportedly plays a role in Iran's network of external terrorist activity.

Basij forces are organized into two regionally based commands comprising 741 Ashura (male only) light infantry battalions and 134 al-Zahra (female only) light infantry battalions of 300-350 personnel each, plus a number of local reserve battalions. Ashura and Zahra battalions are named for the day marking the death of Mohammad's grandson Hussein and Mohammad's daughter and the mother of Hussein, respectively.

These battalions are supplemented by 2.2 million college students organized into reconnaissance and advance guard units. Most Basijis are now given regular military training. Volunteers range from 14 to 70 years of age and are usually lightly armed.

In the early 1990s, the Basij was "reconstructed" with substantial grants from the federal treasury to act as a moral police force and defender of fundamentalist Islam's code of conduct. New uniforms and weapons were issued and an accelerated recruitment drive undertaken within universities and secondary schools. Beginning in early 1993, the Iranian government allotted 40 percent of available university admissions to Basij members as an incentive to join and as a reward for service.

At full strength, Pasdaran has the following structure:

The Pasdaran currently numbers more than 125,000 personnel, including at least 100,000 ground forces personnel, 20,000 naval personnel and 5,000 marines. The Basij paramilitary forces can number up to 1 million upon mobilization, although figures as high as 12.5 million to 20 million have been mentioned by Iranian officials.

(For additional information on the equipment listed below, search our Weapons Database.)

Pasdaran land and air defense units are concentrated for the most part in and around Tehran and the military districts adjacent to the Iraqi border.

Coastal defense batteries equipped with Silkworm and Sunburn anti-ship missiles are located at several sites along the Strait of Hormuz.

Issues
The extent of Iran's participation in the ongoing insurgencies in Iraq and Afghanistan is a matter of dispute. The U.S. has accused the IRGC of supplying advanced weaponry to Shi'ite militias in Iraq and, to a lesser extent, to Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan. Washington added the IRGC to the State Department's list of foreign terrorist organizations in mid-2007.

In December 2008, Tehran proposed the creation of a Basij naval arm designed to patrol the Persian Gulf in coordination with the Pasdaran maritime force.

In March 2009, the IRGC commander boasted that all Israeli nuclear sites were within range of the Shahab-3 missiles.

In December 2009, the Iranian government gave the Revolutionary Guards full responsibility for naval operations in the Persian Gulf in the event of a conflict.

The elite Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps said in February 2010 that it developed a weapon designed to shoot down U.S. Apache attack helicopters. There were no other details provided.