Official Budget Proposal Includes Significant Cuts

The 2019-2020 budget submitted by President Hassan Rouhani to the Iranian Parliament last month calls for a reduction in overall defense outlays while modestly increasing spending on domestic security, reports the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (Washington, D.C.).

The proposed US$43 billion budget calls for a 28 percent reduction of Iran’s overall defense spending, which would total 7 percent of the state budget.

The cuts include 17 percent to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard...