A new commander has been appointed to the position of Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces.
By a decree of Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, this position has been entrusted to General Ali Abdollahi.
Iranian media writes that Supreme Leader Khamenei (who is also the Commander-in-Chief) paid special attention to their battlefield experience and high-level management when signing the latest appointments of commanders.
With separate decrees signed by Khamenei, six commanders and managers of the Armed Forces have been appointed to relevant positions in the General Staff of the Armed Forces, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and the Basij Organization. These appointments were made to strengthen and increase the defense, operational, and management capabilities of the Armed Forces.
According to the relevant decrees, IRGC Major General Ali Abdollahi has been appointed Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, and Major General Kiumars Heydari has been appointed Deputy Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces.
Major General Ahmad Vahidi's military rank has been raised to Lieutenant General, and he has been appointed Supreme Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), while Lieutenant General Mostafa Izadi has been appointed Deputy Commander of the IRGC.
With subsequent decrees, Rear Admiral Ali Ozmaei has been appointed Commander of the IRGC Navy, and Hojjat-ul-Islam wal-Muslimin Hossein Taeb has been appointed head of the paramilitary Basij Organization.
Looking at the past of the appointed individuals, it appears that the vast majority of them are veteran commanders from the Iran-Iraq War period and experienced leadership personnel in various operational, staff, security, and management areas of the Armed Forces.
It should be noted that the Chief of Staff position in Iran has become quite dangerous. In the last 14 months, two Chiefs of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces have been killed.
Lieutenant General Mohammad Bagheri was killed in June last year, followed by Lieutenant General Abdolrahim Mousavi in February this year during Israeli and US attacks.
Now, attention is focused on the new Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, Ali Abdollahi. The question of "Can he also become a victim of Israeli and US attacks?" is being discussed in foreign media.
Iranian sources write that Major General Ali Abdollahi, born in 1959, is one of the veteran commanders of the Armed Forces. His service path includes various branches of the IRGC, the Law Enforcement Forces, the Ministry of Interior, and the General Staff of the Armed Forces.
Abdollahi began his service in military institutions in the years following the victory of the Islamic Revolution and held various responsible positions during the Iran-Iraq War.
He served as commander of the 16th "Quds" Division of Gilan, Chief of Staff of the IRGC Ground Forces, head of the IRGC Staff Inspection, and Deputy Commander of the IRGC Air Force.
He later held several positions in the Law Enforcement Forces, including Deputy for Coordination and Deputy Commander of the Forces.
Abdollahi also has experience in the country's civilian administration; he served as governor of Semnan and Gilan provinces at various times, as well as Deputy Minister of Interior for Security and Law Enforcement Affairs.
After returning to the structure of the Armed Forces, he served as Deputy for Supply, Support, and Industrial Research in the General Staff and Deputy for Coordination of the General Staff.
The command of the "Khatam al-Anbiya" Central Headquarters, to which he was appointed in 2025, was one of Abdollahi's important positions in recent years.
He served as governor and deputy minister during Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency (2005-2013).
General Ali Abdollahi's name has been included in the list of Iranian officials sanctioned by the US Treasury Department.
He participated in the Moscow conference on international security in 2022 as Deputy Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces. At the conference, Abdollahi called the US the "Great Satan" and stated that American totalitarianism and unilateralism threaten global security. The general also stated at the conference that Americans create crises, sanctions, and wars.
A.Gorkhmaz
