80m people ties them with France for 18th, just behind Germany. We have 330m.
636k sq mi area puts them 17th, behind Libya. We have 3.8m sq mi.
They have zero carriers, battleships, cruisers, destroyers, nuclear subs... We have some.
They have zero bombers, or fifth generation fighters... or fourth-generation fighters. We have... more than a few. (180 F-22s... 1000 F-18s... 400 KC-135 refueling tankers...)
They have 45 Mig-29 Fulcrum, and 45 F-14s... perfect for a 1980's Top Gun fight. They have 64 F-4's.... that we designed in 1968, and haven't used since 1990.
They have 3 Kilo class subs... three... designed in 1980. They have 23 mini subs, that are 120 tons displacement... 1/20 the size of the Kilo. Our Seawolf class subs are 9300 tons.
It would be foolish to try to “pacify” the countryside. We are not going to win “hearts and minds”. Any effort at “nation building” would be doomed to failure.
Half of the younger generations are VERY pro-Democracy. We don't need to win hearts and minds, they already want Freedom. You really need to find a few friends who live/d there. The mullahs are not popular, and are increasingly desperate to hang on to control... which makes them less popular.
“We have 330m.”
And 329.8 million of our people are soft and weak. Our people couldn’t win a real war anymore. The first sign of struggle, the media and the Left would call uncle. There will be an endless “end this war” chant.
Money we may have, but the will to fight is just gone.