(Bloomberg) -- Iran’s military will be subject for the first time to the kind of U.S. assessment reserved for China’s expanding forces as lawmakers seek a more accurate analysis of the Persian Gulf oil power’s strengths and strategy.

Congress ordered an annual report on Iranian military goals and capabilities, including the country’s missile and nuclear programs, in a provision tucked into a 1,200-page measure authorizing defense spending. President Barack Obama signed the bill into law last week.


The demand for the analysis reflects lawmakers’ concerns that periodic U.S. intelligence estimates focusing on Iran’s nuclear efforts are too limited in scope.

...Congress wants details indicating trends in the Gulf nation’s strategy “that would be designed to establish Iran as the leading power in the Middle East and to enhance the influence of Iran in other regions of the world.”

The administration also will have to examine Iran’s strategy regarding other countries in the region, especially Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Bahrain, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Armenia and Azerbaijan.