A review of the list of the world’s 30 countries with the largest military budgets offers a clear picture of the unequal structure of defense spending at the international level. At the top of this list stands the United States, whose military budget in 2024 alone equals the combined military spending of the next 12 countries. This reality, rather than signifying security stability, points to an intense concentration of hard power in the hands of a single actor.
Following the United States are countries such as China, Russia, India, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France—actors that are either traditional military powers or are in the process of consolidating their positions in the future global security order. The prominent presence of European and East Asian countries on this list reflects a resurgence of arms competition and growing concern over geopolitical developments.
Against this backdrop, Iran’s name does not appear among the top 30 countries in terms of the size of military spending. At a superficial level, this might be interpreted as a defensive weakness. However, strategic analysis shows that “military expenditure” is only one component of power and not its ultimate measure. Over recent decades, particularly under conditions of maximum pressure and sanctions, Iran has pursued a different path in building its military power.
Reliance on the indigenization of defense technologies, the development of missile and drone capabilities, advances in air defense systems, and the formation of an effective deterrence doctrine have enabled Iran to achieve a high level of defensive capability without resorting to massive budgets. This approach has led strategic assessments to place Iran among the world’s top 10 military powers in terms of operational capability and deterrence.
Ultimately, a comparison of global military budgets shows that in the modern era, military superiority is not merely the product of astronomical spending, but the result of a smart combination of strategy, indigenous technology, battlefield experience, and defense self-reliance—factors that have elevated Iran’s role in regional and transregional security equations.
NOURNEWS