Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, on Monday appointed Revolutionary Guards General Ali Abdollahi as the country’s new Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, in a move seen as consolidating control over Iran’s military leadership.
Khamenei also confirmed a new commander for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, IRGC.
In a statement published on Khamenei’s website, it was announced that “Major General Ali Abdollahi has been appointed Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces. Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi has also been appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps with the rank of Major General.”
Abdollahi previously headed the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, Iran’s joint military command responsible for coordinating operations across the armed forces.
The appointments represent Khamenei’s first senior military appointments since he was named Supreme Leader early in the current Middle East war, following the death of his father in US-Israeli strikes.
Abdollahi has issued strong statements during the conflict. Earlier this month he warned regional neighbours that “any country serving as a defensive shield for criminal and aggressive America will be engulfed by the flames of war.”
