ABSTRACT
This chapter analyzes the air component of Iran’s military power and strategy. It begins by providing a brief overview of Iran’s strategic objectives. US Vice President Mike Pence spoke for many observers when, in early 2019, he stated that “the greatest threat to peace and security in the Middle East is the Islamic Republic of Iran.” Iran’s geostrategic competition with Saudi Arabia is fierce, its tensions with Israel famous, its interference in Lebanon longstanding, and the risk that it will find itself at war with the United States always low, yet never negligible. Understanding Iran’s military capabilities, doctrines, and broad strategic goals are as important as ever. Iran’s history as an empire, in contrast to more recent humiliation, also provides important backdrop to understanding its foreign policy since the revolution. Iranian airpower plays, and will continue to play, a significant role in Tehran’s efforts to deter attack, defend sovereign territory, preserve the regime, and spread the revolution via unconventional warfare.
