President Ebrahim Raisi viewing a military parade on April 18, 2022
Iran has increased its military expenditure for the first time in four years to become the 14th largest military spender last year.
According to the latest report by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) released on Monday, the Islamic Republic raised its military spending to $24.6 billion -- an annual increase of 11 percent -- and for the first time in two decades is among the top 15 countries in terms of the military budget.
The budget allocated for the country’s Revolutionary Guard, or IRGC, grew by 14 percent compared to 2020 and now accounts for 34 percent of Iran’s total military spending.
The estimated increase came despite continuing dire economic conditions caused by many years of sanctions and systematic corruption and is based on official figures in the budget that does not reflect the hidden costs, including funding militia groups across the region.
Iran’s budget is a hard-to-decipher document that often spreads allocations under obscure line items, especially for politically sensitive topics such as military and religious expenditures.
Global military spending continues to grow in 2021, topping $2 trillion for the first time as Russia beefed up its military capabilities ahead of its invasion of Ukraine.
Top five spenders were the United States, China, India, Britain, and Russia. The US accounted for 38 percent of world military spending last year, followed by China with 14 percent.
Iran's archenemy Israel also increased its military budget by 3.1 percent, to $24.3 billion, and is now ranked one stop lower than the Islamic Republic.