Iran’s Guardian Council on May 18 confirmed the 2016-2017 military budget, which had been passed last month by parliament. The budget allows $19 billion to go to the military establishment – the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), regular military, and Defense Ministry – a 90-percent increase in military spending compared to the previous year. It’s a massive jump in defense spending, but one that should not be surprising given the windfall Tehran is set to reap from last summer’s nuclear deal... ....snip... Finally, it lets the government give the military $1.7 billion from a financial settlement reached in January.