Iran's Military Plays Catch Up

The Iranian military is one of the largest in the Middle East. But though it poses a significant potential threat to traditional regional rivals such as Saudi Arabia, it has been severely handicapped by aging equipment and decades of sanctions that have made it difficult to purchase new equipment. Meanwhile, other regional states such as Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates have spent hundreds of billions of dollars purchasing some of the latest and most advanced weaponry on the international market. As a result, Tehran now must contend with the fact that its potential enemies are far better equipped, especially when it comes to combat aircraft. Now that the international agreement on Iran's nuclear program has been signed, Iran can purchase weapons not used in the development of a nuclear weapon or its delivery system. And Tehran has wasted no time in entering negotiations and contracts to do...