Jun 29, 2017

In response to a new US administration that has stated its goal to work toward regime change in Tehran, Iran’s parliament has introduced new legislation to increase the country’s military budget by $540 million.

Iranian parliamentarian Kazem Jalali, the president of the Majlis Research Center, said June 28 that the proposed bill is primarily in response to “America’s aggressive behavior in the region and its hostile policies against Iran.” According to Jalali, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) would be given approximately half of this additional budget for its missile program. The Quds Force, which is responsible for operations outside of Iran’s borders and operates under the IRGC, would receive the other half.

Iran’s overall military budget is approximately $14 billion. Approximately half of that budget is allocated to the IRGC. Various estimates have put the IRGC’s overall budget from $7 billion to $8 billion, depending on how the total nonbudgetary income is added.

Jalali also said that with the new legislation, President Hassan Rouhani’s administration would be required to provide a “comprehensive strategy to counter the threats and terrorist acts of the United States every six months.”

Other articles of the legislation would also create a special branch within the judiciary to handle terrorism cases, ask the Rouhani administration to present an up-to-date list of terrorist groups and its members and stipulate more cooperation between Iran’s various security agencies.