Iran held parades, naval and air displays across the country to mark its annual Army Day. Trucks carrying missiles drove past a podium in Tehran draped with images of President Hassan Rouhani and soldiers saluted the president and military commanders as they marched past. Fighter jets and bombers took part in an air display. Iran has two armies, a regular one which operates as a national defensive force, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that was created after the Revolution to protect the Islamic Republic against both internal and external adversaries.
The army has the biggest ground force in Iran, while the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is in control of a growing arsenal of ballistic missiles, capable of reaching some parts of Europe. In January of this year, Iranian lawmakers approved plans to expand military spending to five percent of the country’s budget, including the development of the country’s long-range missile program, rejecting demands by the international community to avoid developing missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads.