Iran more than doubles defence budget

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addresses parliament before presenting his proposed budget in Tehran

Iran plans to more than double military spending over the coming 12 months, according to an annual budget proposal by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad presented to parliament and announced on his official website yesterday.
"In the area of defence, there is a 127 percent increase," Ahmadinejad said in his statement to lawmakers.
He gave no monetary figure for the increase, nor any indication on how it would be spent.
Iran's official defence budget for the current fiscal year – which ends in mid-March – is around USD 12 billion, on top of which parliament has authorised a USD 3 billion extension.
The announced increase in military spending comes at a time of high international tensions over Iran's nuclear programme, which the West and Israel suspect includes a drive to develop atomic weapons.
Speculation has mounted in recent weeks that Israel is contemplating air strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities, possibly sparking a wider conflict that could draw in the United States and European allies.
Iran, which maintains its nuclear activities are peaceful, has warned it could close the strategic Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf, through which a third of global marine oil traffic passes, if it is attacked.
The Islamic republic is subject to UN sanctions limiting arms imports. However it has a considerable domestic military industry that develops its own weapons, including cruise and ballistic missiles.
Ahmadinejad on Wednesday presented his budget proposal to parliament.
It foresees a total budget of 5.1 quadrillion rials, or USD 443 billion at the government's official budget exchange rate of 11,500 rials per dollar.
That makes the budget roughly the same in rials as for the current Iranian fiscal year – but USD 40 billion less when expressed in dollars because of an official devaluation of the rial over the past year.
The budget not only encompasses government spending and revenue but also those of Iran's vast sector of state companies that dominate the country's economy.
Iran can make 4 nuclear bombs: Israeli 

Iran has enough radioactive material to produce four nuclear bombs, Israel's chief of military intelligence, General Aviv Kochavi, meanwhile warned at a security conference in Jerusalem.
"Today international intelligence agencies are in agreement with Israel that Iran has close to 100 kilograms of uranium enriched to 20 percent, which is enough to produce four bombs," he told the annual Herzliya conference yesterday.
"Iran is very actively pursuing its efforts to develop its nuclear capacities, and we have evidence that they are seeking nuclear weapons," he said, adding "they would need a year from when the order is given to produce a weapon."
The Jewish state, which has the Middle East's sole if undeclared nuclear arsenal, has pushed for tough sanctions against Iran and warned that it retains the option of a military strike if necessary to prevent Tehran from obtaining atomic weapons.
Kochavi also warned that Israel faces increasing threats from more conventional weapons, including "some 200,000 rockets and missiles," in the hands of Israel's enemies.