Khamenei names new Iran military, IRGC chiefs after commanders killed in Israeli-US strikes
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei on Monday issued decrees appointing six military and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps officials to leadership positions after their predecessors were killed in Israeli-US strikes during operations Roaring Lion and Epic Fury.
Ali Abdollahi was appointed chief of staff of Iran’s Armed Forces, with Kioumars Heydari as his deputy. Ahmad Vahidi was named head of the IRGC, with Mostafa Izadi as his deputy. Ali Ozmaei was named head of the IRGC Navy, while Hossein Taeb was appointed commander of the IRGC’s Basij paramilitary.
Vahidi and Ozmaei had already been operating as the respective IRGC and IRGC Navy heads, but had not received official published appointments from the Supreme Leader’s Office.
The appointments follow Sunday’s statement attributed to Khamenei naming two figures who played key roles in forming the IRGC to senior political positions. Mohsen Rezaee, who commanded the IRGC from 1981 to 1997, was appointed Khamenei’s representative on the Supreme National Security Council. Mohammed Bagher Zolghadr, who held several senior IRGC positions after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, including deputy chief from 1997 to 2006, was appointed Khamenei’s political advisor.
