Under the monarchy, Iran had one of the largest armed forces in the world, but it quickly dissolved with the collapse of the monarchy. Reconstituted following the revolution, the Iranian military engaged in a protracted war with Iraq (1980–88) and has since maintained a formidable active and reserve component. Since the mid-1980s Iran has sought to establish programs to develop weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons (Iran may have used the latter in its war with Iraq), and by the late 1990s it had achieved some success in the domestic production of medium- and intermediate-range missiles—effective from 300 to 600 miles (480 to 965 km) and from 600 to 3,300 miles (965 to 5,310 km) away, respectively. Outside observers, particularly those within the United States, have contended that Iran’s fledgling nuclear energy industry is in fact the seedbed for a nuclear weapons program.

Iran’s military obtains much of its manpower from conscription, and males are required to serve 21 months of military service. The army is the largest branch of Iran’s military, followed by the Revolutionary Guards. This body, organized in the republic’s early days, is the country’s most effective military force and consists of the most politically dependable and religiously devout personnel. Any security forces that are involved in external war or in armed internal conflict are either accompanied or led by elements of the Revolutionary Guards. Iran has only a small air force and navy. The Law Enforcement Command serves as the national police force. A specialized unit within that force, the Guidance Patrol (Gasht-e Ershad), enforces Islamic dress (ḥijāb) and chaste behavior (ʿifāf) as interpreted by the ruling clerical class.

Health and welfare

Health conditions appreciably improved after World War II through the combined efforts of the government, international agencies, and philanthropic endeavor. By 1964 smallpox had been eradicated, plague had disappeared, and malaria had been practically wiped out. Cholera, believed to have been controlled, broke out in 1970 and again in 1981 but was speedily checked. Health facilities are nevertheless inadequate, and there is a shortage of doctors, nurses, and medical supplies.

Public hospitals provide free treatment for the poor. These are supplemented by private institutions, but all are inadequate. All health services are supervised by the Ministry of Health, Treatment, and Medical Education, the branch offices of which are headed by certified physicians. Welfare is administered by the Ministry of State for Welfare, Foundation of the Oppressed (Bonyād-e Mostaẕʿafān), and the Martyr Foundation (Bonyād-e Shahīd), the latter being particularly concerned with families of war casualties.

Housing

The flow of population to the cities has created serious housing shortages, and it was only in the 1990s that the government began to address the housing crisis, largely by providing government credits for private sector development. However, most of the nation’s energies have been devoted to urban developments—most of those in the larger cities, particularly Tehrān—and habitation in rural areas remains austere. In major cities, purified water is piped into the houses, while small towns and villages rely on wells, qanāts (underground canals), springs, or rivers. Central heating is not common, except for modern buildings in major cities, and portable kerosene heaters, iron stoves using wood and coal, and charcoal braziers are common sources of heat. Living conditions remain especially harsh among the urban poor and the enormous refugee population.