(Reuters) - Iran intends to manufacture or upgrade up to 800 tanks, the Tasnim news agency quoted Deputy Defense Minister Reza Mozaffarinia as saying on Wednesday. In remarks quoted on July 18 by Iran’s Tasnim news agency, Mozaffarinia did not specify the type of tanks he was referring to or how many would be newly built compared to how many would be upgraded. "The upgrade and manufacture of 700 to 800 tanks has been planned," he was quoted as saying. “Annually, there are 50 to 60 tanks manufactured and a sufficient budget has been allocated because the army and Revolutionary Guards have a great need," Mozaffarinia said. “Annually there are 50 to 60 tanks manufactured and a sufficient budget has been allocated because the army and Revolutionary Guards have a great need.” While the United States and European powers have long sought to curb Iran´s ballistic missile program but its conventional military forces are thought to be weaker than its main regional rival Saudi Arabia. According to the CIA's World Factbook, Iran's military expenditure as a percentage of GDP was 2.69 percent in 2015, while Saudi Arabia's was 9.86 percent in 2016. In a December report, the International Institute for Strategic Studies predicted that Iran would modernize and rebalance its conventional forces "to reflect lessons learned in Syria." Iranian forces have been fighting in Syria since 2012 in support of the government of President Bashar al-Assad.
Iran states that it intends to manufacture and upgrade up to 800 tanks.