SIPRI Report Reveals Which Countries Are Escalating Arms Race in Region: Iran
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A 2019 report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute about world military expenditure is quite revealing which countries are advancing arms race in the West Asia region, Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations said.
“@SIPRI report on 2019 world military expenditure is quite revealing:
US is top spender with $732 billion, 3.4% of its GDP.
Saudi Arabia is 5th with $61.9 billion, 8% of its GDP.
Iran is 18th with $12.6 billion, 2.3% of its GDP.
So, who is advancing arms race in our region?” Majid Takht-Ravanchi tweeted late on Monday.
It came after a new report released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute on Monday found that the US 2019 increase of $732 billion, which accounted for 38% of global military spending, is equal to Germany’s entire military spending for that year. The US spends about 3.2% of gross domestic product on defense annually.
“The recent growth in US military spending is largely based on a perceived return to competition between the great powers,” Pieter Wezeman, a senior researcher at SIPRI, said of the findings.