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General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran

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General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran
ستاد کل نیروهای مسلح جمهوری اسلامی ایران (Persian)
Seal of the General Staff of the Armed Forces
Flag of the General Staff of the Armed Forces
since 13 June 2025
Iranian Armed Forces
TypeGeneral staff
Reports toMilitary office of the Supreme Leader[1]
AppointerSupreme Leader of Iran
FormationJune 1988[2][3][4]
First holderHassan Firouzabadi
DeputyBrigadier general Mohammad-Reza Gharaei Ashtiani

General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran (Persian: ستاد کل نیروهای مسلح جمهوری اسلامی ایران, romanized: Setad-e Kol-e Niruha-ye Mosallah-e Jomhuri-ye Islami-ye Iran) is the most senior military body in Iran, to implement policy, monitor and coordinate activities within the Armed Forces.[5]

Iran's two existing separate militaries, the Islamic Republic of Iran Army (Arteš) and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (Sepāh) are formally subordinate to the general staff, as well as Iran's sole national police force, the Police Command.[5]

The organization was set up in 1989 to enhance cooperation and counterbalance the rivalry between the armed forces and is directly decreed by Supreme Leader of Iran, while the Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics, responsible for planning, logistics and funding of the armed forces is part of the executive branch under the President of Iran.[5]

The force's commander, Mohammed Bagheri, was killed along with 20 other senior officers during the series of Israeli strikes launched on 13 June 2025.[6] He was replaced by Abdolrahim Mousavi.[7]

List of chiefs

[edit]
No. Portrait Chief Took office Left office Time in office Defence branch Deputies Ref.
Chief of the Headquarters of the General Command of Forces
–
Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani
Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani
(1934–2017)
Acting		June 198819880 yearsnonenone–
1
Mir-Hossein Mousavi
Mousavi, Mir-HosseinMir-Hossein Mousavi
(born 1942)		198819890–1 yearsnoneHassan Firouzabadi (1988–1989)–
Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces
1
Hassan Firouzabadi
Firouzabadi, HassanMajor general
Hassan Firouzabadi
(1951–2021[8])		26 September 198928 June 201626 years, 276 days
Basij		Mohammad Forouzandeh (1989–1993)
Ali Sayad Shirazi (1993–1999)
Gholam Ali Rashid (1999–2016)		–
2
Mohammad Bagheri
Bagheri, MohammadMajor general
Mohammad Bagheri
(c. 1960–2025)		28 June 201613 June 2025 †8 years, 350 days
IRGC		Abdolrahim Mousavi (2016–2017)
Ataollah Salehi (2017–2019)
Mohammad-Reza Gharaei Ashtiani (2019–2021)
Aziz Nasirzadeh (2021–2024)
Mohammad-Reza Gharaei Ashtiani (2024–)		[9]
–
Habibollah Sayyari
Sayyari, HabibollahRear admiral
Habibollah Sayyari
(born 1955)
Acting		13 June 202513 June 20250 days
NEDAJA		Mohammad-Reza Gharaei Ashtiani (2024–)[10][11]
3
Abdolrahim Mousavi
Mousavi, AbdolrahimMajor general
Abdolrahim Mousavi
(born 1960)		13 June 2025Incumbent3 days
NEZAJA		Mohammad-Reza Gharaei Ashtiani (2024–)[12]

Timeline

[edit]
Abdolrahim MousaviHabibollah SayyariMohammad Bagheri (general)Hassan FirouzabadiMir-Hossein MousaviAkbar Hashemi Rafsanjani

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Rouhi, Mahsa (2013). "Iran". In Hassner, Ron E. (ed.). Religion in the Military Worldwide. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 153. ISBN 978-1-107-51255-9.
  2. ^ Cordesman, Anthony H. (1999). Iran's Military Forces in Transition: Conventional Threats and Weapons of Mass Destruction. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Publishers. p. 276. ISBN 0-275-96529-5.
  3. ^ Byman, Daniel; Chubin, Shahram; Ehteshami, Anoushiravan; Green, Jerrold (2001). "Preface". In Byman, Daniel; Chubin, Shahram; Ehteshami, Anoushiravan; Green, Jerrold D. (eds.). Iran's Security Policy in the Post-Revolutionary Era. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation. pp. iii–iv. ISBN 0-8330-2971-1. JSTOR 10.7249/mr1320osd.2. MR-1320-OSD.
  4. ^ Eisenstadt, Michael (2002). "The Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran: An Assessment". In Rubin, Barry; Keaney, Thomas A. (eds.). Armed Forces in the Middle East: Politics and Strategy. Abingdon, Oxon: Frank Cass Publishers. p. 240. ISBN 0-7146-8245-4.
  5. ^ a b c Forozan, Hesam (2016). The Military in Post-Revolutionary Iran: The Evolution and Roles of the Revolutionary Guards. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. pp. 51–53. ISBN 978-1-138-91302-8.
  6. ^ Regalado, Francesca; Ward, Euan (2025-06-13). "Who Are the Iranian Generals Killed by Israel? Here's What We Know". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-06-13.
  7. ^ "General Mousavi named Chief of Staff of Iran's Armed Forces". Tehran Times. 2025-06-13. Retrieved 2025-06-13.
  8. ^ "Iran supreme leader's senior military advisor Firouzabadi dies". Al Arabiya English. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  9. ^ "Israel launches strikes against Iran nuclear and military facilities". France 24. 13 June 2025. Retrieved 13 June 2025. Iran's armed forces chief of staff Mohammad Bagheri was killed Friday in during Israeli attacks that hit multiple cities including the capital, state television reported.
  10. ^ "Tehran appointed Habibollah Sayyari, Ahmad Vahidi to key positions". The Jerusalem Post. 2025-06-13. Retrieved 2025-06-13.
  11. ^ "Habibollah Sayyari was appointed as the acting commander of the armed forces". Nour News. 2025-06-13. Retrieved 2025-06-13.
  12. ^ "Israel launches strikes against Iran nuclear and military facilities". France 24. 13 June 2025. Retrieved 13 June 2025. In separate decrees, Khamenei named Mohammad Pakpour to replace Hossein Salami as commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and Abdolrahim Mousavi to replace Mohammad Bagheri as chief of the armed forces general staff.
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