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This past quarter, as I wound up my time as an undergraduate, I took a class on the use of geospatial-information-systems, giving me a chance to play around with something other than Google Earth for a change. As one would imagine, I turned my efforts toward Iran, producing a handful of maps relating to the interdiction of petrochemicals in the Persian Gulf. The first map shows the potential launch zone for the Khalij Fars ASBM. Since the Khalij Fars is based on the Fateh-110, it's reasonable to assume that it has a similar minimum range. This means that in order to fire upon ships traveling through the strait, the TELs have to be located within a relatively narrow corridor. In creating the map, I took the range claim of 300 km at face value, which represents an increase of 50 km over the published range of the Fateh-110. While the official minimum range is unknown, for the sake of this experiment, I added 50 km to the minimum range of the Fateh-110.   The second series of maps ill

In the continuing series of “Disappearing Divisions” we turn to the 64th infantry division in West Azerbaijan, in north-west Iran, which is also being put under the knife of the army's “Samen Alaeme” restructuring plan. Compared to other divisions, relatively little has been written about the reorganization of the 64 th division. The 264 th division, based in Salmas, became independent in November 2011, and the 364 th brigade, based in Mahabad, followed suit in March 2012. While it is not known exactly when the 164 th brigade came into existence in Orumiyeh, it was first mentioned in July 2011, which disrupts the pattern initially observed in the 28 th and 21 st divisions described previously. Little more is known about the brigades through reporting beyond that they are “...entirely independent in terms of logistics, and personnel...”. Presumably, a divisional HQ remains in the same manner as the 21 st and 28 th. The 164 th division, previously based in Orumiyeh, is tran

In the continuing series of “Disappearing Divisions” we turn to the 21st infantry division in East Azerbaijan, in north-west Iran, which is also being put under the knife of the army's “Samen Alaeme” restructuring plan. Previously, the division had one brigade each in Marand, Sarab,Maragheh, and Tabriz. In November 2011, the commander of the 21st ID – Brig. Gen. Birang – participated in a ceremony for the independence of the division's second brigade in Maragheh, now called the 221st brigade. By at least May of 2012, the 3rd brigade in Marand was re-designated the 321st brigade Then in February 2013, the same general announced the independence of the 121st commando brigade as the third phase of the restructuring. The location was not specified, but it is presumed to be Tabriz. One can anticipate the fourth brigade in Sarab being converted to the 421st brigade late-2013 or early-2014. ('View image' to see full size) This loosely follows the pattern set by the restructuri