Islamic Republic of Iran Army

Islamic Republic of Iran Army
ارتش جمهوری اسلامی ایران
ARTEŠ-E JOMHURIY-E ESLĀMI-E IRĀN
Seal of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army
Flags of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army
Motto
  • Persian: ارتش فدای ملت "Army Sacrificed for the Nation" (unofficial)[4]
  • Persian: خدا، شاه، ميهن "God, Shah, Motherland" (pre-1979)[5]
  • Arabic: وَإِنَّ جُنْدنَا لَهُمْ الْغَالِبُونَ "And Our Soldiers, They Verily Would Be the Victors." [Quran 37:173] (Heraldry slogan)
Founded
Current form1979; 45 years ago (1979) (Islamic Republic)
Service branches
HeadquartersKhatam-al Anbiya Central Headquarters, Tehran
Websiteaja.ir
Leadership
Commander-in-ChiefMaj. Gen. Abdolrahim Mousavi
Deputy Commander-in-ChiefBrig. Gen. Mohammad-Hossein Dadras
Personnel
Military age18[6]
Conscription21 months
Active personnel420,000[7]
  • 350,000 (Ground Force)
  • 37,000 (Air Force)
  • 18,000 (Navy)
  • 15,000 (Air Defense)
Expenditure
Budget$18.4 billion (2024)[8]
Related articles
History
RanksRank insignia of the Iranian military

The Islamic Republic of Iran Army[9] (Persian: ارتش جمهوری اسلامی ایران), acronymed AJA (Persian: آجا), simply known as the Iranian Army or the Artesh (Persian: ارتش, romanized: Arteš,(Ərtēš)), is the conventional military of Iran and part of the Islamic Republic of Iran Armed Forces.[10] It is tasked to protect the territorial integrity of the country from external and internal threats and to project power.[10]

The Artesh has its own Joint Staff[11] which coordinates its four separate service branches: the Islamic Republic of Iran Army Ground Forces, the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force, the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy and the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Defense Force.[10]

  1. ^ Shahbazi, A. Sh. (August 12, 2011) [December 15, 1986]. "ARMY i. Pre-Islamic Iran". In Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.). Encyclopædia Iranica. 5. Vol. II. New York: Bibliotheca Persica Press. pp. 489–499. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
  2. ^ Cronin, Stephanie (2012), The Making of Modern Iran: State and Society under Riza Shah, 1921-1941, Routledge, pp. 37–38, ISBN 978-1136026942
  3. ^ Sheikh-ol-Islami, M. J. (August 12, 2011) [December 15, 1986]. "ARMY v. Pahlavi Period". In Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.). Encyclopædia Iranica. 5. Vol. II. New York City: Bibliotheca Persica Press. pp. 508–514. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
  4. ^ "Army Sacrificed for the Nation", Hamshahri (in Persian), 16 April 2008, 48998, retrieved 1 June 2017
  5. ^ Ward, Steven R. (2014), Immortal, Updated Edition: A Military History of Iran and Its Armed Forces, Georgetown University Press, p. 209, ISBN 9781626160651
  6. ^ "How I learned to stop worrying and love the Iranian army", Tehran Bureau, The Guardian, 23 July 2015, retrieved 25 October 2017
  7. ^ International Institute for Strategic Studies (15 February 2023). The Military Balance 2023. London: Routledge. pp. 324–328. ISBN 9781032508955.
  8. ^ Rome, Henry (17 June 2020), "Iran's Defense Spending", The Iran Primer, The United States Institute for Peace
  9. ^ Army in the Passage of History: Annals, Revolution, the Holy Defense (in Persian). University of Command and Staff. 2012 [1391]. p. 48. ISBN 978-964-2523-38-2.
  10. ^ a b c Simon, Rita J.; Abdel-Moneim, Mohamed Alaa (2011), A Handbook of Military Conscription and Composition the World Over, Lexington Books, pp. 152–153, ISBN 978-0739167526
  11. ^ Hossein Aryan (November 15, 2011), The Artesh: Iran's Marginalized and Under-Armed Conventional Military, Middle East Institute, retrieved December 15, 2015