Amid rising tensions between Israel and Iran and rumors that the former is planning to attack the latter which led the US to withdraw some diplomats and military families from the Middle East, many are wondering how the two forces would stack up against each other in military might.
Indeed, the concerns arrive amid stalled talks over Iran’s nuclear program following the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) scathing report regarding cooperation from Tehran. On the other hand, Iran has argued that the IAEA report is unbalanced and relies on “forged documents” provided by Israel.
Whose army is stronger – Iran vs. Israel
Overall, the countries seem to be rather even in terms of their military power, with Israel in a very slight lead. Specifically, Iran ranks 16th among 145 countries observed by GlobalFirepower, with a power index of 0.3048, and Israel in 15th place with a power index of 0.2661, where a score of 0.0000 is optimal.
On paper, Iran beats Israel in manpower, land power, naval fleet, natural resources, financials (due to Israel’s very high external debt), and logistics, while Israel is better with its airpower and fewer geographical obstacles working against it.
Manpower
In terms of manpower, Iran is overwhelmingly stronger thanks, primarily, to its larger population of 88.37 million versus Israel’s 9.4 million. This translates to Iran’s 49.5 million individuals in available manpower, as opposed to Israel’s 3.95 million. Iran has 610,000 active personnel, while Israel has 170,000.
Among them, 41.54 million people are fit-for-service in Iran and 3.23 million in Israel. This year, 1.41 million young Iranians are reaching military age, whereas only 131,637 will do so in Israel. However, the reserve personnel is heavily in Israel’s favor, which has 465,000 of them, while Iran has 350,000.
Money
When it comes to finances, Israel is much stronger, its defense budget plentiful with $30 billion compared to Iran’s $15.45 billion. Israel also has a lot larger external debt of $148.5 billion, as opposed to Iran’s ‘measly’ $4.13 billion.
However, Israel also has a more substantial foreign reserve than Iran ($204.66 billion vs. $120.6 billion). Interestingly, Iran’s purchasing power of $1.44 trillion significantly overpowers Israel’s $471.03 billion.
Airpower
The situation is better in Israel where airpower is concerned. With its 611 total aircraft, it beats Iran’s 551. Among those, it has 240 fighter aircraft in its fleet, compared to Iran’s 188, and 19 special-mission aircraft, as opposed to Iran’s 10.
Additionally, Israel has 149 helicopters where Iran has 128, among those 48 attack helicopters, where Iran has only 13.
Land power
Furthermore, Iran has 1,713 tanks, which is a bit more than Israel’s 1,300. It also has 65,825 armored vehicles as opposed to Israel’s 35,985. Iran also overpowers Israel with its 2,070 toward artillery guns (Israel has only 171), as well as 1,517 mobile rocket projectors (versus Israel’s 183).
When it comes to self-propelled artillery (SPA), an important component of ground fighting that supplies various types of projectiles, Tehran has 392, while Israel has slightly fewer – 352.
Naval power
Finally, Iran’s naval force comprises 107 fleet units, whereas Israel has 62. Neither have any aircraft or helicopter carriers, nor destroyers, while the former has 25 submarines, and the latter only five.
In addition, Iran has seven frigates, while Israel has none. That said, Israel has seven corvettes and 46 patrol vessels, while Iran has three and 21, respectively. Iran also has one mine warfare vessel, while Israel has none.
Settling the score: Iran vs. Israel
All things considered, Iran and Israel don’t stray much from each other when it comes to their military prowess, although they each have their stronger and weaker sides compared to the other. Having said that, people, money, and firepower, don’t necessarily mean an edge in a weaponized conflict.
The final score involves taking into consideration strategy, motivation, improvisation, weather, allies and support, volunteers, and many other aspects. Meanwhile, if you’d like to find out how India and Pakistan or Russia vs. Ukraine stand against each other in military might, then check out our other overviews.
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