Iran's supreme leader appoints six senior military commanders

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei has selected six high-ranking military officials to assume key roles within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Basij. Maj Gen Ali Abdollahi has been appointed as the chief of staff, succeeding Lt Gen Abdul Rahim Mousavi, who was killed in early February. Brig Gen Kiumars Heidari has been designated as deputy chief of staff.

Brig Gen Ahmad Vahidi has been promoted to major general and assigned as the commander-in-chief of the IRGC, replacing Lt Gen Mohammad Pakpour, who was also killed in February air strikes. Maj Gen Mostafa Izadi has been appointed as the deputy commander-in-chief of the Basij. Admiral Ali Ozmaei has been named commander of the IRGC Navy, replacing Alireza Tangsiri, who was killed in an Israeli attack in March.

Former IRGC intelligence chief Hossein Taeb has been appointed as the head of the Basij, the paramilitary's volunteer force. Khamenei emphasized the need to bolster the armed forces' capabilities and readiness, enhance their ability to counter various military threats, and complete the merger of the Armed Forces General Staff and the Khatam Al Anbiya Central Headquarters.

Maj Gen Vahidi has been instructed to strengthen the IRGC's deterrent capabilities and prepare it for "powerful offensive operations against the enemy." On Sunday, Khamenei appointed Mohsen Rezaei, a former IRGC chief, as secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, replacing Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr who has been appointed as the political adviser to Khamenei.

Rezaei, 71, previously commanded the IRGC from 1981 to 1997 and served as secretary of Iran's Expediency Discernment Council and vice president for economic affairs under President Ebrahim Raisi.