Reyhane Hejazi - According to official figures, total defense and security allocations in the proposed bill amount to approximately $9.23 billion, calculated on the basis of an estimated exchange rate of 130,000 tomans per US dollar.
Under the proposal, Iran’s defense budget has seen a nominal increase of around 145% compared with the previous year. The government frames this rise as part of efforts to strengthen deterrence, manage security threats, and maintain stability in a highly tense regional environment.
Breakdown of the 1405 Defense and Security Budget
The distribution of defense and security resources among key institutions is as follows:
- Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics: about $4.62 billion
- Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC): about $1.88 billion
- Law Enforcement Command of the Islamic Republic of Iran: about $1 billion
- Army of the Islamic Republic of Iran: about $670 million
- Ministry of Intelligence: about $423 million
- Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters: about $323 million
- General Staff of the Armed Forces: about $277 million
- Supreme National Security Council: about $23 million
Iran’s Military Budget in the Regional Context
Military spending is widely regarded as a key indicator of national power and influence—particularly in the Middle East, where geopolitical rivalries and security tensions remain high.
As one of the region’s main actors, Iran has allocated a substantial share of its resources to defense and security, given its sensitive geographic position, the presence of extra-regional powers near its borders, and the continuation of international sanctions.
Analysts argue that for non-aligned countries, military spending is largely threat-driven and often unavoidable, typically calibrated to the level of surrounding security challenges.
From this perspective, the increase in Iran’s defense budget is seen less as a sign of an offensive posture and more as an effort to preserve deterrence and maintain a balance of power.
Nominal Growth vs. Economic Reality
Despite the sharp rise in headline figures, some domestic observers point to the impact of high inflation. With inflation estimated at around 50%, the budget increase for the Army of the Islamic Republic of Iran amounts to only a marginal rise in real terms compared with last year. Critics argue that this limits the actual boost to operational capability and purchasing power.
Iran’s defense and security budget for 1405, totaling roughly $9.2 billion, underscores the high priority placed on national security within the country’s overall budget structure.
From a regional perspective, data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) for 2024 show that Iran continues to lag well behind several regional competitors in terms of military expenditure.
According to SIPRI, Israel’s defense budget reached approximately $46.5 billion in 2024, reflecting an unprecedented increase amid intensified military confrontations.
Saudi Arabia, with spending estimated between $75 and $80 billion, remains the largest military spender in the Middle East. Turkey, at around $25 billion, ranks above Iran in global defense spending.
Among Gulf states, the United Arab Emirates is estimated to spend about $22–23 billion, while Qatar’s military budget is put at roughly $9–10 billion.
By comparison, SIPRI’s official figures place Iran’s military budget in 2024 at about $7.9 billion. This suggests that even with the projected increase in the 1405 budget bill, a substantial gap remains between Iran and several major regional players in terms of overall military expenditure.
Taken together, these figures offer a snapshot of Iran’s defense strategy in one of the world’s most volatile regions—one in which maintaining deterrence, alongside economic constraints and external pressure, plays a decisive role.