Editing Economy of Iran (section)

=== Defense related burden ===
According to official data, as of 2023 Iran spends 10.3 billion [[United States dollar|USD]] or 2.1% of its [[GDP]] on national defense. This percentage is similar to that in other countries such as [[United Kingdom|UK]], [[France]] and [[Finland]].<ref>{{Cite report |url=https://www.sipri.org/publications/2024/sipri-fact-sheets/trends-world-military-expenditure-2023 |title=Trends in World Military Expenditure, 2023 |date=April 2024 |publisher=SIPRI |language=en}}</ref>
[[File:Iran_Ministry_of_Defense_New_Weapons_Ceremony_and_Young_Soldier_Festival_(014).jpg|thumb|Iran Ministry of Defense New Weapons Ceremony and Young Soldier Festival]]
In 2025, the Iranian budget bill granted 51% of the total oil and gas export revenues, estimated at 12 billion euros, to the [[Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps|Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)]] and the [[Law Enforcement Command of the Islamic Republic of Iran|Law Enforcement Command]]  (LEF).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Khatinoglu |first=Dalga |date=2024-10-24 |title=Iran's Armed Forces to receive 51% of government's oil export revenues |url=https://www.iranintl.com/en/202410232813 |access-date=2025-01-07 |website=iranintl.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Iran plans to increase military budget by 200 percent |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/10/29/iran-plans-to-increase-military-budget-by-200-percent |access-date=2025-01-07 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref>

Iran also finances [[Hezbollah]], the [[Houthi movement|Yemeni Houthis]], Iraqi militia, and [[Hamas]]. The average annual budget reserved for the funding of [[Funding of the Axis of Resistance|Iran's proxies]] is estimated at US$1.6 billion.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-01-13 |title=Iran's Islamist Proxies in the Middle East {{!}} Wilson Center |url=https://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/irans-islamist-proxies |access-date=2025-01-07 |website=www.wilsoncenter.org |language=en}}</ref> According to Syrian opposition sources, starting from the beginning of 2011, Iran allocated a total of US$50 billion to maintain the [[Bashar al-Assad|Assad]] regime in [[Syria]]. However, this investment proved to be a failure following the eventual collapse of the regime.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Deep Dive: Syria's foreign debt to Iran |url=https://amwaj.media/article/deep-dive-syria-s-foreign-debt-to-iran |access-date=2025-01-09 |website=Amwaj.media |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Rasmussen |first=Sune Engel |title=Iran Suffers Blow of 'Historic Proportions' With Assad's Fall |url=https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/syria-iran-assad-axis-of-resistance-6289667a?page=1 |access-date=2025-01-09 |website=WSJ |language=en-US}}</ref>

The most costly of Iran's defense expenditures is its nuclear program. The estimated total cost of Iran's [[Nuclear program of Iran|nuclear program]] until 2025 approaches US$500 billion.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Qaed |first=Anas Al |date=2021-04-25 |title=Iran's Nuclear Program Might Not Be Worth the Cost |url=https://gulfif.org/irans-nuclear-program-might-not-be-worth-the-cost/ |access-date=2025-01-07 |website=Gulf International Forum |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-10-04 |title=Opinion: The true cost of Iran's nuclear gamble |url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/opinion-true-cost-iran-nuclear-192742262.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAJdxDcmLCCDVgIlY89vFafKkcXWr2CUyteFSnRPoW-Vsyk-Cx-LBhwAtoDWJqzmhoE6Piz9IGkOQys7rz6kQHMglDwQwUbLZGRXAiZuiYwotnA98dmqh4cXUwbEASr7Sqc8XskRRPWaC4LpIeYuT2M-9xbbXamQKnsSfu2KYFAdH |access-date=2025-01-12 |website=Yahoo News |language=en-US}}</ref> As a result of its nuclear program Iran is subject to international [[International sanctions against Iran|sanctions]], causing a long-term economic stagnation which cost Iran an additional US$1.2 trillion over 12 years.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-06-24 |title=Sanctions Cost Iran $1.2 Trillion Over 12 Years, Businessman Says |url=https://www.iranintl.com/en/202406244025 |access-date=2025-01-07 |website=iranintl.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Khatinoglu |first=Dalga |date=2021-12-05 |title=How Much The Nuclear Program Has Impoverished Iran |url=https://www.iranintl.com/en/20211205244208 |access-date=2025-01-07 |website=iranintl.com |language=en}}</ref> Furthermore, the sanctions led to a significant decline in [[foreign direct investment]]s (FDI), with Iran experiencing a reduction of approximately 80% in FDI between 2011 and 2021.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Iran Foreign Direct Investment, 1997 – 2024 {{!}} CEIC Data |url=https://www.ceicdata.com/en/indicator/iran/foreign-direct-investment |access-date=2025-01-09 |website=www.ceicdata.com}}</ref>