Nournews: The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), in its latest report, announced that countries’ military expenditures in 2025 increased by 2.9 percent, reaching their highest level since 2009. According to the report, total global military spending continued its upward trend for the eleventh consecutive year, reaching $2.89 trillion last year. Military expenditures also accounted for 2.5 percent of global GDP, marking the highest level since 2009.
The report highlights an intensification of militarization and rising tensions on the global stage, developments that can be traced to major powers’ departure from international commitments, their growing reliance on security-driven strategies, as well as the war-driven and hegemonic spending policies of the United States and the Zionist regime. Notably, Iran, during the Ramadan War, reshaped traditional equations and introduced a new defensive order based on national resilience and the utilization of military and geopolitical capabilities. This demonstrated that sustainable and comprehensive security depends not merely on increased military spending but on developing indigenous capabilities.
Major Powers’ Withdrawal from Global Commitments
Another section of the SIPRI report states that the United States, China, and Russia were the three countries with the highest military expenditures. Combined, their spending reached $1.48 trillion—equivalent to 51 percent of total global military expenditures. Meanwhile, Europe’s military spending increased by 14 percent, reaching $864 billion.
Such trends can be viewed as evidence of major global powers distancing themselves from their humanitarian and ethical commitments. Countries that, within frameworks such as the United Nations, human rights institutions, and international conventions, have pledged to combat poverty, hunger, and health inequalities have, in practice, shifted massive resources toward military sectors, thereby neglecting these responsibilities. United Nations reports also testify to the persistence of humanitarian crises and the ineffectiveness of such commitments.
The Role of the United States in Escalating Global Militarization
A significant portion of military spending by countries such as the United States and European states has been directed toward war efforts, while Russia and China have allocated resources to counter perceived security threats. This trend is reflected in conflicts such as the war in Ukraine, tensions surrounding Taiwan, and other international crises.
A review of the United States’ record over recent decades suggests that military intervention has been a consistent element of its policies—from the occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq to interventions in Libya, Syria, and Ukraine, as well as support for terrorist and separatist groups and the creation of instability in various regions. In this context, the U.S. military budget for 2026, approved by Congress, has exceeded $1 trillion and is projected to reach approximately $1.5 trillion by 2027.
The increase in U.S. military spending, in addition to intensifying global threats, has also pushed other countries to raise their military budgets. For example, during the Trump administration, the United States called for European countries to allocate 5 percent of their GDP to NATO—a figure amounting to hundreds of billions of euros. Furthermore, according to reports from U.S. intelligence and military institutions, Iran’s missile and drone capabilities during the Ramadan War significantly depleted U.S. weapons reserves, and replacing them may take several years—an issue likely to further increase military spending and intensify the arms race.
The Costs of Non-Indigenous Security in West Asia
West Asia remains one of the primary centers of military spending. This situation stems partly from some regional countries’ dependence on imported security and U.S. support, and partly from Western interventionist policies, support for the Zionist regime, and the irresponsibility of certain Arab states. These conditions have trapped the region in a vicious cycle of insecurity, imposing heavy military, economic, and human costs.
In contrast, regional convergence, the removal of foreign forces, and resistance to the aggressive policies of the Zionist regime could help reduce these expenditures and redirect resources toward economic, social, and cultural development.
Iran’s New Defensive Order and Sustainable Security
In such an environment, Iran has demonstrated through a new model of defensive order that sustainable security does not depend solely on increasing weaponry. The Ramadan War clearly showed that alongside missile and drone capabilities and asymmetric warfare, factors such as national resilience, social cohesion, economic and managerial stability, and the strategic use of geopolitical assets—such as the Strait of Hormuz—play decisive roles in achieving strategic superiority.
The linkage between battlefield operations, public opinion, and diplomacy, supported by media engagement, has formed the foundation of this model. This approach has not only ensured Iran’s security but also enhanced its regional and international standing. Despite having a smaller military budget than many regional and global countries, Iran’s effective use of indigenous capabilities has enabled it to achieve its defense objectives and has become a model for regional nations, particularly within resistance groups.
Today, Iran continues to implement coherent and multilayered strategies to consolidate the achievements of resistance, while simultaneously emphasizing the necessity of regional convergence, indigenous security, the removal of foreign forces, and opposition to the Zionist regime. Efforts to manage the Strait of Hormuz strategically and to expand ceasefires and bring an end to conflicts across the region can also be analyzed within this framework—an approach that, with the support of regional countries, could pave the way for a more secure and stable future.
Nournews