Iran plans to triple military budget

Iranian government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani on Tuesday said the country's leadership planned to raise its military budget by around 200%.

The announcement comes as tensions with arch-rival Israel rise and after retaliatory military strikes against it.

What Tehran has said

"A considerable raise that amounts to 200% has been witnessed in the country's defense budget," Mohajerani said without elaborating.

Iran and Israel have traded missile salvos for months, with Israel striking Iran on Saturday in retaliation for an Iranian missile barrage against Israel.

Tehran on Monday said it would "use all available tools" to respond to the attacks, which Israel said were against military targets.

Iran already has one of the Middle East's largest militaries, with more than 600,000 active troops and around 350,000 reservists.

Second-direct attack on Israel

Israel had vowed to retaliate after October 1, when Iran fired around 200 missiles in what was only its second-ever direct attack on the country. 

The first-ever direct assault against Israeli territory, when Iran launched more than 300 drones and missiles, took place in April. Tehran said that was a response to an Israeli attack on Iran's consular annex in Damascus, which killed commanders of its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

As well as fighting Hamas in Gaza after last year's October 7 attacks, Israel is also fighting on a northern front against the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia, considered a terrorist organization by the US, Germany and several Sunni Arab countries. Iran-supported Houthis in Yemen have also attacked Israel.

rc/kb (AFP, dpa, Reuters)