However, the US has a vastly greater overall population and the world's most advanced military apparatus, with a history of using nuclear weapons. It also remains allied with the most powerful and prosperous nations not only regionally, but around the world. US Defence Intelligence Agency director Vincent R Stewart recently identified Iran as one of the five top military threats facing the nation, and key to Iran's military clout is its arsenal of missiles.
According to the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, Iran possesses the largest and most diverse missile arsenal in the Middle East, with some of its ballistic and cruise missiles able to strike Israel over 2, kilometres away as well as parts of south-east Europe.
But while Tehran has repeatedly launched missiles into Syria and Iraq in recent years and been accused of attacking Western-allied oil tankers, it has never launched a missile into either Israel or Europe. Many analysts maintain this is due to the reality that Iran would not be able to endure a conflict with the US, due to an ailing economy and the fact that most of its allies are non-state actors. Nevertheless, Tehran has demonstrated an ability to bolster its military clout through an extensive network of proxies across the region — mostly Shiite militias that are hostile to the US, Israel and Saudi Arabia.
It is believed to have long supplied weapons and support to Hezbollah in Lebanon, in addition to Houthi rebels in Yemen as well as Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria.
General Soleimani was the leader of the Quds Force , the unit within the Revolutionary Guard responsible for overseas operations, including the establishment and support of proxies.
And his replacement General Ghaani has loudly promised revenge against the US. Meanwhile, despite being hampered by decades of international sanctions, Iran remains committed to modernising its military. It has signalled its intention to continue its uranium enrichment program after former president Barack Obama's signature nuclear deal fell apart under Mr Trump.
Iran has also made rapid progress in developing its capabilities with unmanned aerial vehicles UAVs — for example, a warhead-carrying Raad 85 UAV sometimes referred to as a "suicide drone" — which can be directed at a target by a human operator. While Iran boasts a large missile arsenal, its existence is designed to compensate for one major arsenal disadvantage — the country's relatively weak air force and lack of regional military bases and key allies.
Despite largely pulling out of Iraq in recent years, the US maintains some military bases around the world. It has important regional allies like Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Turkey, Egypt and Israel, all of which have the latest Western-made aircraft, giving them a significant technological edge over the Islamic Republic. Israel is believed to be the only nuclear-armed nation in the region, possessing an estimated warheads. The United States has thousands. US allies control trade routes like the Suez Canal — in the case of Egypt — and resources like oil — in the case of Saudi Arabia.
Iran's regional allies, meanwhile, are generally confined to Lebanon, Syria, and Kuwait. And due to years of sanctions, Tehran has been stymied in its efforts to import new aircraft from suppliers like France or Russia. So even though Iran has a large missile arsenal and an apparently improving air defence capacity with various proxies, Iran remains highly vulnerable to the vastly superior firepower of the US, whether directly or indirectly through allies and proxies.
While Iran's nuclear program has caused anxiety for the US, it has not yet successfully developed nuclear weapons capabilities, and analysts maintain it is still far off. Iran's nuclear industry was dealt a significant blow in when a computer virus called Stuxnet — developed by the US and Israel — infected more than a dozen Iranian nuclear facilities. The attack shut down 1, nuclear centrifuges across the Islamic Republic and accidentally revealed that Washington had been running a sophisticated cyber operation against Iran.
Iran would clearly be at a considerable disadvantage in the event of a direct conflict with the United States. There are jihadi strikes at key transit points such as the Suez Canal and the Straits of Hormuz. The waters off of Yemen are inundated with sea mines, making ship travel throughout the region a slow, almost suicidal process. Leaders from both the United States and Iran broadcast their bellicose rhetoric via a host of platforms, each pointing the finger at the other, each saying that neither wants war but that the aggression cannot stand without a response.
Crowds gather, seething angrily at U. Evacuations ensue, U. Electronic attacks volley across cyberspace, leading to entire power grids shut down. All the while the network of proxy Iranian jihadi cells, from the Middle East to Central America find novel and makeshift ways to poke, prod and provoke the United States by hitting soft targets whenever and wherever possible.
The few U. Weeks, perhaps months later, ammunition stocks depleted, no more major targets to hit, smoke and dust subside and an uneasy stasis emerges. More likely than not, the leadership regime in Iran remains in place as a weakened nation strives to put itself back together. And a nuclear program begins anew.
What followed was leaked reports of war plans being drawn up that could include as many as , U. Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan followed that up by saying about additional troops were headed to the region, on top of those manning Patriot batteries already shipped out.
The United States sent a carrier battle group and long-range bombers to the region. Reports allege that the head of the Iranian proxy groups have been ordered to prepare for a range of strikes against U.
Those involve some Shia groups in the region, but not all, as some are aligned with Iran but others operated based on their own, local needs. Could this all be political saber-rattling? Or could provocations unsheathe that saber? Instead of competing directly with the U.
Navy, Iran uses swarming small boats, drones and sea mines to deter and harass the fleet, especially at choke points such as the Strait of Hormuz, a key corridor that connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman.
To counter maritime harassment, the United States military would use surface vessels and airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets to detect, avoid or eliminate those threats, experts said. Navy and Iranian ships, drones have increased. Naval Forces Central Command. That said, one threat to U. President Hassan Rouhani and other dignitaries attend the inauguration of Fateh, "Conqueror" in Persian, Iranian made semi-heavy submarine in the southern port of Bandar Abbas, Iran, in February.
The Fateh has subsurface-to-surface missiles with a range of about 2, kilometers 1, miles , capable of reaching Israel and U. Iranian Presidency Office via AP. Another threat is the Iranian Ghadir-class minisub, a fleet of about 23 ton submersibles that are operated by a handful of crew and are capable of firing a couple of torpedoes. But renewed attacks by small vessels are still a serious threat. The constrained geography of the Gulf also gives ships short warning times to respond to such attacks, he said.
The Iranian Ghair-class has been somewhat of a success but lacks the staying power of U. As with anti-ship cruise missiles, Iran might not make a direct hit on a U. If the U. In the Iraq invasion, the United States sent an armada — five carrier battle groups, amphibious ready groups and two amphibious task forces. Iran could use this drone for attacks. How the US and Iran became enemies. Tapper presses defense secretary on Iran intelligence. Video shows protests in Tehran as Trump tweets support.
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A Shahab-3 surface-to-surface missile on display in Tehran on September 26,
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