Defending Iran
From Revolutionary Guards to Ballistic Missiles

An authoritative analysis of Iran's defense doctrine and security policies set within the context of security and political relations in the Middle East.

Gawdat Bahgat (Author), Anoushiravan Ehteshami (Author)

9781108701730, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 23 September 2021

288 pages
22.8 x 15 x 1.6 cm, 0.45 kg

'Gawdat Baghat and Anoushiravan Ehteshami, two well-respected experts, have produced an important and insightful analysis of Iran's defense and security doctrine tracing its evolution from pre-revolutionary days to the current context deftly weaving together the nexus of ideology, threat perceptions and national interests amid the changing strategic international and regional landscape.' Sanam Vakil, Chatham House

Since the 1979 revolution, the ruling establishment of Iran has developed and articulated a defense strategy reflective of the country's Iran-Iraq war experience and its international isolation. Its asymmetrical warfare doctrine, use of irregular forces in military campaigns, deployment of ballistic missiles, use of fast naval vessels to harass and confuse adversaries, and finally development of a sophisticated cyber warfare capability, are all features of this unique defense strategy. Based on a wide range of primary sources in Persian, Arabic and English, Gawdat Bahgat and Anoushiravan Ehteshami offer a detailed and authoritative analysis of Iran's defense strategy. Additionally, this book provides a comparative analysis of the Islamic Republic's capabilities in relation to Israel and Saudi Arabia, its main regional adversaries. Framing Tehran's threat perceptions following the revolution within a wider historical context, this book will facilitate further analytical reflections on the country's changing role in the region, and its relations further afield, with the United States, Europe, Russia and China.

Preface
1. Iran's Threat Perceptions
2. Defense Institutions: Politics and Power
3. Iran's Military-industrial Complex
4. Structure and Make-up of Iran's Armed Forces
5. Iran's Ballistic Missiles and Space Program
6. Cyber Security: Iran and Its Neighbors
7. Naval Forces
8. Iran's Drone Capabilities
9. Proxies and Partners
Conclusion: The Way Forward.

Subject Areas: Defence strategy, planning & research [JWK], International relations [JPS], Middle Eastern history [HBJF1]