Israel vs Iran: Which Middle Eastern Power Has the Upper Hand?

Israel and Iran have long been two contentious military powers in the Middle East. It’s no secret that these two countries do not care for each other in the slightest, even coming to blows in recent years with missile strikes. As tensions simmer in the Middle East, the real question is how these two countries […] The post Israel vs Iran: Which Middle Eastern Power Has the Upper Hand? appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

Apr 2, 2025 - 16:47

Israel vs Iran: Which Middle Eastern Power Has the Upper Hand?

Israel and Iran have long been two contentious military powers in the Middle East. It’s no secret that these two countries do not care for each other in the slightest, even coming to blows in recent years with missile strikes. As tensions simmer in the Middle East, the real question is how these two countries would stack up against each other, considering Israel’s cutting-edge technology and missile defense systems against Iran’s larger manpower and missile arsenal. Here, 24/7 Wall St. is taking a closer look at how these countries match up across multiple sectors ranging from military prowess to economic strength.

To compare Israel and Iran, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the 2025 Military Strength Ranking from Global Firepower, an annually updated defense-related statistics website with information on 145 countries. Global Firepower ranked 145 countries based on their PowerIndex, a composite of over 60 measures in categories such as military might, financials, logistical capability, and geography. The smaller the PowerIndex value the more powerful a nation’s theoretical conventional fighting capability is. We included multiple factors in the comparison across different fields ranging from economics, land power, air power, and naval power, as well as a few others to give a full picture to how these countries measure up.

Here is a look at how Israel and Iran compare on these fronts:

Why Are We Covering This?

Military control room, computer screen and team with surveillance, headset and tech communication from back. Security, satellite map and man with woman at monitor in army office at command center.

In this rapidly evolving world, the comparison of military power between countries serves as a measure of global stability. This analysis is important not just for understanding each nation’s defense capabilities but also should an offensive conflict arise. While superpowers like the United States, China, and Russia dominate headlines with their military resources, other nations also play important roles in regional security dynamics and geopolitical relations. This analysis seeks to understand these countries from a base level of assets, resources, manpower, and economics.

Israel Military Strength

Strength score: 0.2661
Global strength rank: #15 out of 145

Iran Military Strength

Satin texture of curved flag of Iran

Strength score: 0.3048
Global strength rank: #16 out of 145

Israel Financials

Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, an atlas map from a world atlas, published in 1982, suitable to illustrate travel destinations, tourism background, world trade, politics and economy