Mojtaba Khamenei appoints six top commanders in Iran's military

Iran's Supreme Leader and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Ayatollah Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei, has appointed new commanders to six key positions in the country's military. The appointments were made in the General Staff of the Armed Forces, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the IRGC Navy and the Basij Resistance Force.

The appointments were announced in an official statement on Monday. Separate orders were issued for six senior commanders and officials. Under the new appointments, Major General Ali Abdollahi has been made Chief of Staff of Iran's Armed Forces. Brigadier General Ghiomars Heidari has been made Deputy Chief of Staff.

Additionally, Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi has been promoted to Major General and made Commander-in-Chief of the IRGC. Major General Mostafa Izadi has been made Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the IRGC. Rear Admiral Ali Azmaei has been appointed as the new commander of the IRGC Navy. Hujjat al-Islam wal-Muslimin Hossein Tayyeb has been made head of the Basij Mostazafan organisation.

The statement, published on the Supreme Leader's official website, said Khamenei issued separate orders determining the responsibilities of six senior commanders and officials. It said Ali Abdollahi has been made Chief of Staff and Ghiomars Heidari Deputy Chief of Staff. Ahmad Vahidi has been promoted to Major General and made IRGC Commander-in-Chief, while Mostafa Izadi has been made Deputy Commander-in-Chief. Ali Azmaei has been made commander of the IRGC Navy and Hossein Tayyeb has been appointed head of the Basij Mostazafan organisation.

The new appointments bring changes to several key positions in Iran's military command structure, particularly in the country's most influential military force, the IRGC, and its navy.

At the time of the military appointments, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said the Supreme Leader was in "complete good health." Iran's ISNA news agency published Pezeshkian's remarks on Monday. The President said he had a "very good meeting" with Khamenei. Earlier, Mojtaba Khamenei had appointed former IRGC chief Mohsen Rezaei as his representative to the country's Supreme National Security Council.

The appointment was announced in an order issued on Sunday, with Rezaei replacing Mohammad Baqer Zolghadr. An account run in Khamenei's name on X said Rezaei was given the responsibility considering his long military experience. Rezaei was one of Iran's key commanders during the Iran-Iraq war, referred to in Iran as the "Sacred Defence."

Earlier, Ali Larijani had served as Khamenei's representative to the Supreme National Security Council. He was reportedly killed in a US-Israeli attack in March.

Source: Al Jazeera