Six senior appointments fill posts left vacant by wartime losses as Mojtaba Khamenei consolidates control
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei issued decrees on Monday appointing six senior commanders to key posts across the Armed Forces General Staff, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and the Basij Resistance Force, in what marks his first major military reshuffle since assuming the position of Supreme Leader and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.
The appointments come as Iran remains locked in an ongoing conflict with the United States and Israel that began on February 28, and follow the deaths of several senior commanders in US-Israeli strikes during the war — including Mojtaba Khamenei's father and predecessor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
According to the appointments:
- Major General Ali Abdollahi, an IRGC pilot, was named Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces.
- Brigadier General Kioumars Heydari was appointed Deputy Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces.
- Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi was promoted to the rank of major general and named Commander-in-Chief of the IRGC, formally succeeding Mohammad Pakpour, who was killed in the early days of the war.
- Major General Mostafa Izadi was appointed Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the IRGC.
- Rear Admiral Ali Ozmaei (also transliterated Azmaei) was named Commander of the IRGC Navy.
- Hossein Taeb was appointed head of the Basij Resistance Force (Basij Mostazafan Organization).
The decrees were published on the Supreme Leader's official website and, notably, were also announced in English on social media — a move some analysts read as a deliberate signal to foreign audiences.
Analysts described the reshuffle as favoring continuity and loyalty over sweeping change. Ali Vaez, deputy program director for the Middle East and North Africa at the International Crisis Group, said the appointments were "as much about consolidating Mojtaba [Khamenei]'s authority as correcting the vulnerabilities exposed by two wars," adding that the new Supreme Leader is "putting trusted veterans in key positions while reshaping the command structure for a faster and more coherent response to the next crisis."
The appointments come alongside a broader reshuffling of Iran's security apparatus: President Masoud Pezeshkian named Mohsen Rezaei as Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, following the resignation of Mohammad Baqer Zolqadr, who was reassigned as a political advisor to the Supreme Leader. Khamenei also named Rezaei as his direct representative on the council, alongside Saeed Jalili.
The military shake-up comes amid continued speculation over Mojtaba Khamenei's health and his continued absence from public appearances since taking office; he is believed to have been wounded in the strike that killed his father. President Pezeshkian said this week that Khamenei is "completely healthy," describing a nearly seven-hour meeting in which they discussed Iran's economy and the impact of US sanctions.