Iran’s supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei fills 6 top military posts amid wartime leadership overhaul
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei has appointed six senior commanders to key positions in the country’s military establishment, filling top posts in the armed forces, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), IRGC Navy and Basij.Major General Ali Abdollahi has been named Chief of Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces, with Brigadier General Kioumars Heydari appointed as his deputy, according to a series of decrees issued by Khamenei.The IRGC will also get a new commander. Brigadier general Ahmad Vahidi has been promoted to the rank of Major General and appointed as the force’s Commander-in-Chief. Major General Mostafa Izadi will serve as his deputy.The reshuffle also changes the leadership of two key IRGC-linked organisations. Rear Admiral Ali Azmaei has been appointed to head the IRGC Navy, while Hojjatoleslam Walmuslimin Hossein Taeb will lead the Basij Resistance Force.Iran’s Supreme Leader’s office said the appointments were made through separate decrees setting out the new responsibilities of the commanders.The statement said, “Based on these decrees, Major General Ali Abdollahi, a pilot of the Revolutionary Guards, was appointed as the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, and Brigadier General Kioumars Heydari was appointed as the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces.”On the IRGC leadership, it said, “Also, Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi was given the rank of Major General and became the Commander-in-Chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and Major General Mostafa Izadi assumed the responsibility of succeeding the Commander-in-Chief of the Corps.”The statement added, “Following these decrees, the responsibility of commanding the IRGC Navy was assigned to Rear Admiral Ali Azmaei, and the leadership of the Basij Mostazafan Organisation was assigned to Hojjatoleslam Walmuslimin Hossein Taeb.”The appointments are the latest in a series of senior security and military changes announced by Mojtaba Khamenei.On Sunday, he appointed former IRGC commander Mohsen Rezaee as his representative to Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, replacing Mohammad Baqir Zolghadr.In the decree, an account attributed to Mojtaba Khamenei said, “Dr Mohsen Rezaee, considering your valuable experience, I am hereby appointing you, who were one of the first commanders in the triumphant 8-Year Sacred Defence, to be my representative in the Supreme National Security Council.”The post was previously held by Ali Larijani, who was assassinated in US-Israeli strikes in March.The latest appointments also come as President Masoud Pezeshkian sought to dismiss concerns over Khamenei’s health. Pezeshkian said the Supreme Leader was “completely healthy” after what he described as a “very good meeting” with him, ISNA reported on Monday.
