Dave Majumdar
With tensions ratcheting up between Iran and Saudi Arabia, the potential for conflict is growing.
While Iranian forces are no match technologically for Riyadh’s lavishly equipped military, Tehran can use what equipment and troops it does have in clever ways to offset that advantage. But sanctions have done serious damage to Iranian forces, so Tehran would have to rely on asymmetric means to take on Saudi Arabia until new hardware like the Russian S-300 missile defense system becomes available.Here are just a few of the weapons to which Tehran might turn in a war.
Quds Force
While not a weapon per se, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) elite Quds Force is probably the single most effective tool that Tehran could use against the Saudis. Numbering about 15,000 troops, this shadowy special operations force made life miserable for U.S. forces occupying Iraq during Washington’s long stay in that country.
Quds Force commandos trained local Shia insurgents and provided weapons to be used against U.S. forces—which included explosively formed penetrators (EFP) that could punch through even the Abrams main battle tank. At the height of the Iraq war, EFPs caused about a fifth of all U.S. casualties.
With tensions ratcheting up between Iran and Saudi Arabia, the potential for conflict is growing.
While Iranian forces are no match technologically for Riyadh’s lavishly equipped military, Tehran can use what equipment and troops it does have in clever ways to offset that advantage. But sanctions have done serious damage to Iranian forces, so Tehran would have to rely on asymmetric means to take on Saudi Arabia until new hardware like the Russian S-300 missile defense system becomes available.
Here are just a few of the weapons to which Tehran might turn in a war.
Ballistic Missiles
While Iran’s air force is mostly comprised of obsolete airframes, Tehran still has a potent strike capability in the form of ballistic missiles. Iran has a host of missiles at its disposal including the liquid-fueled Emad, which has a 1,000-mile range. It also has the Shahab family of ballistic missiles. The latest variant, the developmental Shabab-4, could have a range as great as 2,400 miles.
http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/5-ways-iran-could-crush-saudi-arabia-war-22712
