What we know about the Iranian army threatening Israel

The direct military confrontation between Iran and Israel has drawn renewed attention to the Iranian armed forces. What are they capable of?

The start of a direct military confrontation between Iran and Israel has drawn renewed attention to the Iranian armed forces. Earlier this month, Israel attacked a building at the Iranian diplomatic compound in the Syrian capital, Damascus, killing seven senior Iranian commanders and military personnel.

Iran has promised to retaliated, and did so about two weeks later, unleashing a massive air attack on Israel on Saturday involving hundreds of drones and missiles aimed at targets inside Israel and the territory it controls.

Here is a look at the Iranian army and its capabilities.

Why is the Iranian army relevant at present?

Israeli officials had said they would respond to any attack by Iran with a counterattack, which could prompt further retaliation from Iran and possibly an expansion into a broader regional war. It is even possible that a conflict of this type could drag on in the United States, even though Washington has made it clear that it had nothing to do with the attack on Damascus.

Analysts say Iran's adversaries, primarily the United States and Israel, have avoided direct military strikes against Iran for decades, unwilling to meddle in Iran's complex military apparatus. Tehran. Instead, Israel and Iran engaged in a long shadow war via air, sea, land and cyber attacks, and Israel covertly targeted military and nuclear facilities in Iran and killed commanders and scientists.

“There’s a reason Iran wasn’t hit,” said Afshon Ostovar, associate professor of national security affairs at the Naval Postgraduate School and Iranian Army expert. “It’s not that Iran’s adversaries fear Iran. It's because they realize that any war against Iran is a very serious war. »

What kind of military threat does Iran pose?

Iran's armed forces are among the largest in the Middle East. The East, with at least 580,000 active-duty troops and about 200,000 trained reservists, split between the traditional army and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, according to an annual assessment last year by the International Institute of strategic studies.

Power by proxy: How Iran is shaping the Middle East

A guide to armed groups that allow Iran to extend its influence throughout the region.

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