Iran to increase funding for defence infrastructure armouring
Tehran will strengthen its 'defence structure' by 2022 through oil revenues. This was announced by the Iranian news agency Fars. "The government is taking charge, through the National Iranian Oil Company, of a programme to improve the defence infrastructure," the news agency reports. Meanwhile, Tasnim news outlet Tasnim notes that "the 2022-2023 budget allocates around $5 billion to boost defence capabilities and strategic research". Last year, Iran allocated $4 billion to this sector. Iran's 2022 budget is already "closed", according to Masoud Mir-Kazemi, Iran's vice president and head of the Planning and Budget Organisation.
Tehran's decision to increase defence funding coincides with Israeli Defence Minister Benjamin Gantz's order to the Hebrew army to prepare for a possible military strike against Iran. According to Israeli media reports, Gantz reportedly spoke to senior US officials such as his counterpart Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken about the situation during his trip to Washington.
The Israeli minister warned that "disturbing figures" about Iranian activities in the region had come to light in recent months. Gantz alluded to the Kashan base, where Iranian forces train to operate suicide drones, and to drone attacks.
Israel, like Iran, has increased its military budget. Last October, the Hebrew government approved a fund of 5 billion shekels (more than 1.3 million euros) to prepare the national army for a possible Iranian attack. In fact, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) will conduct a mock attack this spring. According to Israeli radio station KAN, the drill will be one of the largest ever conducted by the IAF. The military exercise will involve F-15, F-35 and F-16 aircraft, as well as Gulfstream G550 spy planes and refuelling planes. The Israeli media outlet explains that the activities will be carried out in the Mediterranean Sea to simulate the distance the planes would have to travel in an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities.
Gantz stressed that Tehran has deployed troops in the western part of the country with the aim of "attacking countries and forces in the Middle East in general and Israel in particular". "We are preparing for this plan and we will do what is necessary to protect our citizens and territory," he added. Israel's top defence official also underlined the lack of progress in the Vienna talks to bring Iran back into the nuclear deal. Gantz remarked that the international community must understand that "Iran is playing games" in order to buy time and continue with the "development of its nuclear programme".
In this sense, US President Joe Biden has announced that he has asked his government to prepare alternatives in case "diplomacy fails" in the nuclear negotiations. White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said that Biden "is committed to ensuring that Iran never obtains nuclear weapons". However, he 'believes that diplomacy is the best way to achieve this goal'.
The seventh round of talks began on Thursday after five months, but little progress is expected. Iranian representatives still refuse to meet directly with their US counterparts as they continue to stress the need for the lifting of sanctions to bring them closer together. European and US parties have branded Iranian demands as "maximalist" and accused Tehran of being serious about returning to the deal. The rift between the two sides has intensified since conservative hardliner Ebrahim Raisi became Iran's president last August.