Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei fills 6 key military positions

Tehran [Iran]: Iranian Supreme Leader and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Ayatollah Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei has appointed six senior commanders to key positions in the General Staff of the Armed Forces, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Basij Resistance Force, according to an official press release.

In separate decrees issued by Khamenei, Ali Abdollahi was appointed Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, while Kioumars Heydari was named Deputy Chief of Staff.

Ahmad Vahidi was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the IRGC with the rank of lieutenant general, while Mostafa Izadi was appointed Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the IRGC.


Ali Azmaei was appointed Commander of the IRGC Navy, and Hossein Taeb was appointed Head of the Basij Resistance Force.

According to the release published on the official website of Iran's Supreme Leader, the appointments were made through separate decrees issued by Khamenei announcing the responsibilities and missions of six senior commanders and officials of the armed forces.

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."

It added, "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."

"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 statement said.

The appointments place the six commanders in senior positions across Iran's military command structure, the IRGC, its naval forces and the Basij Resistance Force.

The appointments come as Iranian President Pezeshkian said that Khamenei is "completely healthy" and the President had a very "good meeting" with him, as reported by ISNA news on Monday.

Earlier, Mojtaba Khamenei appointed former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) chief Mohsen Rezaee as his representative to the country's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), replacing Mohammad Baqir Zolghadr, according to a decree published on Sunday.

Announcing the appointment, an account attributed to Mojtaba Khamenei posted on X, "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 position was formerly held by Ali Larijani, who was assassinated in US-Israeli strikes in March.