Iran's Military Strategy & Power Projection - Drones, Proxies & Production under Sanctions

Compared to many of the other militaries we’ve looked at, Iran’s force structure and overarching strategy stands out.

From its arsenal of Shah era weapons to its new generation of missiles, in this episode we did a bit deeper into Iran’s military capabilities, limitations, and the industrial capabilities behind them.

Patreon:

Relevant Reading/sourcing
Platform figures per MB2022 as always for sake of consistency with my other works.

IMF data on Iran

IAEA Director General’s Statement on Verification in Iran

Reporting on the IRGC vs Artesh budget

CSIS – The Iranian Missile Threat – Anthony Cordesman

CSIS – Missile Defence Project Iran

Iran friendly fire incident

IAEA head on Iran

Featured Times article on IRGC in Syria

IAEA reporting on Iran (Reuters)

Iran missile test

FP – Iran is filling Armenia’s power vacuum

Reporting on Saudi-Iran détente

Fakour images

French statement on Iran’s nuclear program

CRS Reports:
Iran and Nuclear Weapons Production

Iran’s Nuclear Program – compliance with international obligations

Iran’s Nuclear Program and U.N. Sanctions Reimposition

Michael Eisenstadt – IISS - Iran after Sanctions: Military Procurement and Force-Structure Decisions

Michael Eisenstadt - Iranian military developments and trends

Iran’s Foreign and Defence Policies

Iran – Background and U.S. Policy

Shaan Shaikh – CSIS – Iranian missiles in Iraq

CSIS - The Iranian and Houthi War against Saudi Arabia

Reuters on Iran backing Iraqi militia

Khamenei praising Basij

Reporting on the 2017 Iran political rift

UK House of Commons Briefing on Iran’s nuclear program

IranM2 data

Included article on sanctions sunset

Included article on Iran drone production

Source on included F-4 image

Caveats & Comments:
All normal caveats and comments apply.
In particular – I would like to note as always that this material has been created for entertainment purposes only.

Timestamps
00:00:00 — Opening Words
00:01:26 — What Am I Talking About?
00:02:04 — History
00:09:24 — Position And Strategy
00:16:25 — The Force
00:28:47 — The Proxies
00:38:22 — Economy And Defence Production
00:49:40 — Production And Sanctions Busting
00:57:37 — Missiles And Drones
01:10:34 — Conclusion
01:11:30 — Channel Update

[PerunAU]

Thank you to the Patrons who voted for this topic - it had been in the works (along with Israel) long before the recent escalation in the region, but I hope people can find value in it given recent events.

I'm feeling better this week - just very washed out at this point, so expect the energy levels to be back to normal (with a more regular topic) next week.

I would also like to note a small correction to this video - Mohammad Mosaddegh (removed in the 1953 coup) was Iran's Prime Minister, not President.

Thank you for your understanding, keeping it civil in the comments and your ongoing support. Cheers.

[DevonsWorkshop]

I mean no disrespect when I say I fall asleep every night watching your videos. I’ve probably watched all of your videos 50 times each. Thank you for the playlist so I can fall asleep to only Perun content. Your research & logistical analysis is world class. Keep em coming.

[Weedsethesecond]

Came for a Terra Invicta Let's play, stayed for weekly courses on defense economics. Not a single week have gone by without a nuanced, well researched presentation, brought in an excellent manner. This man is an absolute legend.

[Dartanis]

"And I believe, that despite the presumed best efforts of the air force and the army, the US navy has never been placed under official US sanctions."
Dammit you made me spill my drink for that joke!

[NinjatoBlade]

I’m glad there’s consistently about 300-400 thousand people who agree that spending an hour a week learning about the world as it actually is rather than listening to propaganda for 20s is a worthwhile use of time

[pooc_]

I'm currently 18 years old and doing my mandatory conscript service in the austrian army. The "18 year olds needet to clean rifles" joke resonated way to hard on me

[Stevieoggy]

Hey mate. Your videos are always the highlight of my Sunday evening here in WA, thanks for the work!

[Isometrix]

Im not sure how to say this the right way, but Perun, you are quite possibly the highest tier of content creator. Not only do you minimize bias, you explicitly describe what biases could affect your interpretation. Then, you do such in depth and detailed reaearch into the topic that if anyone contradicts you elsewhere, I assume they're wrong. Multiple times, military personel have contradicted what you have said, but I notice that its because they have such a narrow view. You don't just have research ethic, work ethic, and overall ethics, you have such a vast wealth of knowledge that you can connect dots that I'm convinced no one else on the planet can manage.

You are good and you should feel good about what you do. You make just be some bloke making PPT presentations on the internet, but you've done more good in this world than 99.99% of content creators.

[grantcox]

I don't think you need to be nervous or worried about your content, it seems completely unbiased and fair in my opinion.
Your weekly product is top shelf in both information and entertainment and I look forward to Sunday every week where i can enjoy learning various subjects from you.
Excellent work my internet friend, I plan on investing in your channel thru patreon in the near future. You certainly deserve it.

[mnorth]

"Friends who regularly ask for ballistic missiles are the expensive kind of friends to have." -quote of the day!

[theodorangelos]

He gets into the topic that directly and quickly that i always hit the 10 s back button because I am so used to unnecessary introductions that I don't expect someone to actually get to the point.

[ropeburnsrussell]

A post graduate lecture every Sunday.
I cant thank you enough.

[danielpeirson]

Another fantastic vid Aussie. #StandWithKiwiland #StopEmuAggression

[mdsx]

Story i heard about the F-14 purchase: the Shah came to the US to witness a flyoff between the F-14 and F-15. Both aircraft were to start the contest with a full fuel load, and the F-15 went first. While it was performing, the Tomcat was sitting with engines running, just burning off fuel. Thus, when it was the cats turn, she was a lot lighter, and pulled off some impressive maneuvers.

[james]

Our Australian slideshow man sure is pertinent. If only our policy makers can learn from him 🤔🤔🤔

[owowhatsthisitisidio]

If Kiwiland trains up the kiwi (bird) national army and emutopia trains up the emu (bird) national army as proxies, how would the conflict play out?

[georgewaters]

My Sundays revolve around these videos. Thank you Mr Anony-Perun, your hours of dedication are very much appreciated.

[saint-miscreant]

perun’s weekly videos never fail to help abate the monday-anticipation blues!

[surajbiradar]

Man, i would really appreciate if you share your insane work schedule. And tips to be so efficient and consistent.
1) How do you rummage through all of the information and filter it to valid ones in short time?
2) How do you manage to keep tabs on various topics simultaneously?
3) Doing all this while having another job.
3) And how the hell do you manage the burn out/social life/mental decompression due to all of this?

[thomastheawesome]

The two things my Sundays revolve around is Perun and Church, unfortunately I got confused and when I was put in charge of procurement for Sunday school I procured main battle tanks and 5th generation fighters for them.