chemical tanker 4, container 14,
liquefied gas 1, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 5, petroleum tanker
30, roll on/roll off 2
foreign-owned: 1 (UAE 1)
registered in other countries: 8 (2005)

Airports:
305 (2004 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 127
over 3,047 m: 39
2,438 to 3,047 m: 25
1,524 to 2,437 m: 26
914 to 1,523 m: 32
under 914 m: 5 (2004 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 178
over 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 9
914 to 1,523 m: 129
under 914 m: 39 (2004 est.)

Heliports:
13 (2004 est.)

Military Iran

Military branches:
Islamic Republic of Iran Regular Forces (Artesh): Ground Forces,
Navy, Air Force (includes Air Defense)
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (Sepah-e Pasdaran-e Enqelab-e
Eslami, IRGC): Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force, Qods Force (special
operations), and Basij Force (Popular Mobilization Army)
Law Enforcement Forces: (2004)

Military service age and obligation:
18 years of age for compulsory military service; 16 years of age
for volunteers; soldiers as young as 9 were recruited extensively
during the Iran-Iraq War; conscript service obligation - 18 months
(2004)

Manpower available for military service:
males age 18-49: 18,319,545 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
males age 18-49: 15,665,725 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually:
males: 862,056 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$4.3 billion (2003 est.)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
3.3% (2003 est.)

Transnational Issues Iran

Disputes - international:
Iran protests Afghanistan's limiting flow of dammed tributaries to
the Helmand River in periods of drought; Iraq's lack of a maritime
boundary with Iran prompts jurisdiction disputes beyond the mouth of
the Shatt al Arab in the Persian Gulf; Iran and UAE engage in direct
talks and solicit Arab League support to resolve disputes over
Iran's occupation of Tunb Islands and Abu Musa Island; Iran stands
alone among littoral states in insisting upon a division of the
Caspian Sea into five equal sectors

Refugees and internally displaced persons:
refugees (country of origin): 1,223,823 (Afghanistan) 124,014
(Iraq) (2004)

Illicit drugs:
despite substantial interdiction efforts, Iran remains a key
transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin to Europe; domestic
narcotics consumption remains a