On November 19, the Defense\nIntelligence Agency (DIA) today released \u201cIran Military Power,\u201d an intelligence\nproduct that examines the core capabilities of Iran’s military.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This volume in DIA’s series of\nmilitary power reports provides details on Iran’s defense and military goals,\nstrategy, plans, and intentions. It examines the organization, structure and\ncapability of the military supporting those goals, as well as the enabling\ninfrastructure and industrial base.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs Tehran expands its capabilities\nand role as both an unconventional and conventional threat in the Middle East,\nit is more important than ever that we understand Iran\u2019s military power and the\nthreat it poses to our interests, our allies, and our own security,\u201d Defense\nIntelligence Agency Director Lt. Gen. Robert P. Ashley, Jr. said in his\nintroduction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Throughout its 40-year history, the\nIslamic Republic of Iran has remained implacably opposed to the United States\nand its presence in the Middle East. Iran has built its military power\nprimarily to serve two important goals: ensuring the survival of the regime and\nsecuring a dominant position in the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIran sees itself as closer than ever\nto achieving its goals, Ashley said. \u201cTehran has played the cards dealt it by\nthe fall of Saddam, the uprising in Syria, the rise and retreat of ISIS, and\nthe conflict in Yemen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBy applying a rigorous\nlessons-learned process during decades of conflict in the Middle East, Iran has\nadapted its military capabilities and doctrine to account for developments by\nthe United States and its allies. Although still technologically inferior to\nmost of its competitors, the Iranian military has progressed substantially over\nthe past few decades,\u201d Ashley added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The military power series of\nunclassified overviews is designed to help the public achieve a deeper\nunderstanding of key challenges and threats to U.S. national security and focus\non near-peer competitors and challengers such as Russia, China, Iran and North\nKorea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“This product and other reports\nin this series are intended to inform our public, our leaders, the national\nsecurity community, and partner nations about the challenges we face in the\n21st century,” Ashley said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
DIA has a long history of producing\ncomprehensive and authoritative defense intelligence overviews. In 1981, DIA\npublished the first unclassified \u201cSoviet Military Power\u201d report, which was\ntranslated into eight languages and distributed around the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two years ago, in the spirit of\n\u201cSoviet Military Power,\u201d DIA decided to once again produce and publish\nunclassified defense intelligence overviews of the major foreign military\nchallenges we face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n