WEEKLY SUMMARY SPECIAL REPORT IRAN: BUILDING UP THE MILITARY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79-00927A010800110003-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 11
• Document Creation Date: December 19, 2016
• Sequence Number: 3
• Content Type: SUMMARY

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Secret
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Weekly Summary
Special Report
Iran: Building Up the Military
Secret
Np 58
June 7, 1974
No. 0023/74A
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Ank,
SECRET
SPECIAL REPORTS are supplements to the Current Intelli-
gence Weeklies issued by the Office of Current Intelligence.
1 he Special Reports are published separately to permit more
comprehensive treatment of a subject. They are prepared by
the Office of Current Intelligence, the Office of Economic
Research, the Office of Strategic Research, and the Direc-
torate of Science and Technology. Special Reports are co-
ordinated as appropriate among the Directorates of CIA but,
except for the normal substantive exchange with other
agencies at the working level, have not been coordinated
outside CIA unless specifically indicated.
Additional Warning
NATIONAL SECURITY INFORMATION
Unauthorized Disclosure Subject to Criminal Sanctions
Classified by 005827
Exempt from general declassification schedule
of E. 0. 11652, exemption category:
y 56 (1), (2), and (3)
Automatically declassified
on: Date impossible to Determine
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IRAN
Building Up the Military
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Iran, which already has the largest and best-equipped armed force in the Persian
Gulf area, is engaged in a massive military development program. Major new
acquisitions of tanks, aircraft, and ships will be made within the next few years. The
Shah is determined to acquire the most sophisticated military hardware available, as
security against what he sees as regional and international threats to Iran. Thelarrival
of so much equipment is certain to strain the capacity of the Iranian armed forces to
absorb it. I
Ground force additions will include nearly 800 British-built Chieftain 'tanks,
the most advanced combat tank yet developed. For the air force, Tehran intends to
purchase several squadrons of new F-14 interceptor aircraft from the US. These
planes will be entering service with the Iranians about the same time they become
operational with the US navy. Iran also expects to contract for the F-15 air-superior-
ity fighter, which has only recently been assigned to an operational unit in the US.
New additions to Iran's navy will be six French-built missile-armed patrol boats and
two destroyers on order from the US. Tehran is also considering buying a cruiser
designed to carry V/STOL aircraft and helicopters.
Iran is also improving and expanding its naval and air facilities on the Persian
Gulf. These improvements are designed to strengthen the country's ability to protect
shipping through the gulf. The construction of a huge naval base near the, gulf's
entrance is a symbol of the Shah's determination to carry out what he sees as
Tehran's responsibility to be the guardian of this oil-rich region.
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The Shah, who views himself as a successor
to Cyrus and Darius and has a predilection for the
grandiose, is bent on restoring Iran to a position
of greatness in the world. The self-confidence
gained from domestic successes and Iran's pre-
eminence in the Persian Gulf have encouraged
him to seek a broader role for himself and his
country. The military is the key to his plans. He
seeks to develop Iran's armed forces in order to
gain international respect, to provide a boost to
Iran's national pride, and to garner satisfaction
for his own ego.
Tehran's current defense policy is governed
both by the Shah's determination to safeguard
the oil industry that fuels Iran's economic boom
and his concern for the integrity of Iran's borders.
The Shah is notoriously a "worst case" planner.
Particularly worried about the proximity of im-
portant petroleum assets to the Iraqi border, he
believes that overwhelming military superiority is
the only way for Iran to discourage Iraqi adven-
turism. Beyond that, the Shah harbors an inbred
distrust of his most powerful neighbor, the
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USSR-a distrust reinforced by Iran's experience
with Soviet occupation during World War II and
the subsequent attempt by the Soviet Union to
annex parts of northern Iran.
Internationally, the Shah fears the expansion
of Soviet influence in the Indian Ocean and in the
Persian Gulf. Iran's apprehensions about the in-
tentions of its northern neighbor have been in-
creased by heavy Soviet military assistance to Iraq
as well as by Soviet influence in South Yemen
and the assistance channeled to Arabian dissidents
through South Yemen. He views with anger and
apprehension Baghdad's sponsorship of leftist
subversive groups operating on the Arabian Penin-
sula, the most notable being the Popular Front
for the Liberation of Oman and the Arabian Gulf.
The Shah sees any victory of Arab leftists over
conservative regimes on the peninsula as a threat
to Iranian interests. He is convinced that Iran has
to rely on its own military strength to protect its
interests and the free flow of shipping in the gulf.
Whether the Shah fully believes the fears he
repeatedly expresses is unclear but, by empha-
sizing the threats, he provides justification for
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large purchases of arms. He is convinced that
Iran's booming economy, strikingly improved by
events of the past half year, can sustain a guns-
and-butter approach. The country's growing eco-
nomic strength is due primarily to the tripling of
oil prices announced by the Organization of Oil
Exporting Countries in December. This supports
the Shah's tendency toward ostentatious display,
as his pocketbook can now support his appetite.
Ground Forces: Better Equipment
Last year, Iran accepted the first installment
of almost 800 Chieftain medium battle tanks pur-
chased from the UK two years ago. The Chief-
tains, armed with a very accurate 120-mm. gun,
give Iranian armored units a distinct advantage at
long range over Iraq's Soviet-made T-62 tanks, the
most advanced Soviet tank now in use. Iran has
also ordered 250 British-made Scorpion light
tanks.
In addition to the new tanks, Iran is plan-
ning to modify its large inventory of US-built
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M-60 and M-47 tanks. A planned tank-refitting
facility, to be built near Isfahan with West Ger-
man assistance, will be used to equip these tanks
with more powerful main guns and with diesel
engines.
Iran's air defense missile system, which had
consisted primarily of British Tigercat low-level
missiles, was improved last summer by the addi-
tion of two batteries of British-made Rapier mis-
siles. Early this year, Iran contracted for 1,400
more of these missiles, as well as for 34 associated
radars. Iran has some 1,300 US-built Hawk mis-
siles on order.
Air Force: More Supersonic Aircraft
Iran's air force, which has some 180 F-4 and
F-5 fighter-bombers, is building up its fleet of
supersonic aircraft. A total of 280 more F-4E and
F-5E fighters has been ordered from the US, and
these planes are in the process of being delivered.
Tehran has also ordered 30 US F-14 fighter
interceptors when they become available. In addi-
tion, it is interested in obtaining the F-15 fighter
at a later date. The F-14 is believed to be more
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Army crews in training
maneuverable than the most advanced Soviet
fighter and would be a formidable addition to the
Iranian air force.
The air force is expanding and improving its
airfields. It is also constructing a new fighter base
at Chah Bahar on the Gulf of Oman. This field,
ion of other air force facilities
along with expans
near the Persian Gulf, will give Iranian aircraft a
better capability to strike targets in Iraq, the
Arabian Peninsula, and Afghanistan.
The Navy: Small But Powerful
The navy is Iran's smallest service, but it is
the most powerful in the Persian Gulf, and the
r-
Iranians have plans to expand
protect significantly Iranian oil
ing the next five years
tankers headed for the Indian Ocean and the Red
Sea. New ships ordered include six French-built
La Combatante II missile patrol boats. Delivery of
two British and two West German logistic ships,
Special Report
which were ordered in 1972, is pctedfla British
year. Iran is considering the purchase aircraft and
cruiser designed to carry V/STOL
helicopters.
Iran has one 2,300-ton British-built de-
stroyer, which carries surface-to-surface missiles,
and two smaller US-built guided-missile de-
stroyers. Two Spruance-class destroyers are on
order from the US. The Iranians have four fast a
frigates armed with surface-to-air missiles
aodts
number of corvettes, minesweepers, patrol
and smaller vessels.
Iran's navy is well equipped to conduct am-
phibious operations. It already has the world's
largest squadron of hovercraft troop carriers.
Eight of the ten hovercraft can carry 30 armed
troops, and the remaining two can each carry
170. Four other large missile-armed
of 60 miles per
which will be able to reach speeds
hour and carry 140 men, are on order. The
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Defense Ministry plans to create a regular marine
corps, consisting primarily of commandos trained
by the navy. The corps will be based at Bushehr
in the northern gulf area.
Tehran is also improving and enlarging port
facilities along the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of
Oman. Bandar Abbas, a naval base at the entrance
to the gulf that serves as the headquarters of the
Persian Gulf Fleet, is being greatly expanded.
Dominating the Gulf
Iran's oil revenues enable it to buy the best
weapons available as well as to place orders for
weapons still under development. The Shah is also
taking steps to develop the country's domestic
armaments industry.
Greater emphasis on training is slowly but
steadily increasing the proficiency of Iranian ser-
vicemen. Exposure to hostile fire along the Iraqi
border and the success in seizing several small
islands in the gulf have boosted the military's
self-confidence and pride.
The rapid acquisition of so much advanced
equipment, however, has stretched Iran's tech-
nical expertise very thin. To help overcome this
problem, Iran is bringing more US and West Euro-
pean advisers into the country as well as im-
proving its training procedures.
The Shah can be expected to use his armed
forces to protect what he sees as Iran's national
interests in the Persian Gulf, including the safe
passage in the gulf for oil tankers and other mer-
chant vessels using the ports of friendly Persian
Gulf states.
Further, the Shah has made clear his belief
that the security and viability of conservative
Iranian frigate Saam
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regimes on the Arabian Peninsula are closely tied
with Iranian security. For the first time in two
centuries, Iranian troops are taking part in com-
bat outside their own country. The Shah is al-
ready providing helicopters and a 1,400-man spe-
cial forces contingent to the Sultan of Oman in
his struggle against radical-supported Dhofari
guerrillas; Tehran has offered additional assist-
ance. The Shah has repeatedly stated that he
would respond favorably to a request for similar
assistance from any Arab country in the gulf that
finds itself threatened by an insurgent movement.
He has also implied that he might respond to such
a threat even without an invitation. (SECRET NO
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