Iran moves to triple military budget amid Israel tensions

Iran's government has proposed tripling its military spending, an official said Tuesday, as tensions with arch-rival Israel rise following recent exchanges of missile strikes.

Government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani outlined the move that would see "a significant increase of more than 200 percent in the country's military budget" at a news conference in Tehran, without elaborating.

Tehran has not disclosed any exact figures, but according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) think tank, Iran's military spending in 2023 was about $10.3 billion.

The proposed budget will be debated, with lawmakers expected to finalize it in March.

"All efforts have been made to meet the country's defense needs and special attention has been paid to this issue," said Mohajerani.

Escalating regional tensions

The plan came after Israel carried out air strikes on military sites in Iran on October 26 in response to Tehran's October 1 attack, itself retaliation for the killing of Hamas, Hezbollah leaders and a Revolutionary Guards commander in earlier Israeli missile strikes.

Iran's attack on October 1, when it said it fired 200 projectiles at Israel, was its second-ever direct attack on its arch-enemy.

Israel claimed most of the missiles were intercepted but one person was killed.

At least four soldiers were killed in the October 26 Israeli strikes on Iranian military targets, according to Iran's military, and Iranian media reported Monday that a civilian was also killed in the attack.

The Islamic republic conducted its first direct attack on Israel in mid-April, in response to a suspected Israeli strike on Iran's consulate in the Syrian capital Damascus that killed seven Revolutionary Guards, including two generals.

The moves unfold amid Israel's ongoing war in Gaza, which has expanded in recent weeks to include Lebanon.

Iran and Israel at each other's necks

On Monday, Iran and Israel accused each other of endangering Middle East peace in a heated exchange at a UN meeting.

SIPRI says Israel's military spending grew by 24 percent, reaching $27.5 billion in 2023 alone, coming second in the region after Saudi Arabia.

Current figures on Israel's 2024 military spending are unavailable, though the country has benefited from substantial military aid provided by the United States since the outbreak of the war.

Israel has for the decades been the largest recipient of US military assistance.

According to Iran's official IRNA news agency, the country's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps receive the highest portion of the country's military budget.

The regular army and other branches of the armed forces receive a smaller allocation, the agency said based on figures of the current fiscal year which ends in March 2025.

Iran does not recognize Israel, and the two countries have fought a shadow war for years.

The Islamic republic accuses Israel of having carried out a wave of sabotage attacks and assassinations targeting its nuclear program.