Mojtaba Khamenei Appoints IRGC General as New Military Chief
Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has appointed Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) General Ali Abdollahi as the new chief of staff of the armed forces. Mojtaba also named Ahmad Vahidi as the new commander of the IRGC.
According to reports from AFP and Iran International on Tuesday (11/8/2026), at least six new senior Iranian military officials were appointed by Mojtaba through his official decree as Supreme Leader. This move also cements Mojtaba’s full control over Iran’s military since he officially took office in early March.
‘Major General Ali Abdollahi has been appointed as Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces,’ read the official announcement from Mojtaba’s website on Monday (10/8). Abdollahi replaces the late Abdolrahim Mousavi, who was killed in the initial US and Israeli strikes on 28 February.
Abdollahi previously headed Khatam al-Anbiya, the joint operational command responsible for coordinating the armed forces during wartime. During the conflict, Abdollahi issued a series of harsh threats, warning neighbouring countries that ‘any nation that becomes a shield for criminal and aggressive America will be consumed by the flames of war.’
Former Army commander Kioumars Heydari was appointed as Deputy Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces. Vahidi, previously a Brigadier General, was promoted by Mojtaba to Major General and appointed as the new IRGC commander, replacing Mohammad Pakpour, who was also killed in the US-Israeli strikes.
‘Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi has also been appointed as Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps with the rank of Major General,’ the official statement read. Mostafa Izadi, former commander of the Cyber and Emerging Threats Headquarters under Khatam al-Anbiya, was appointed as Deputy Commander of the IRGC.
Rear Admiral Ali Azmaei was officially appointed as Commander of the IRGC Navy, replacing Alireza Tangsiri, who was killed several months ago. Meanwhile, Hossein Taeb, the former head of the IRGC Intelligence Organisation, was appointed as Commander of the Basij paramilitary force.
These six appointments mark Mojtaba’s first steps in appointing senior military officials since he succeeded his late father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the combined US and Israeli strikes at the end of February. The appointments also formalise a wartime leadership structure that had been operating for months without official decrees. For the time being, Mojtaba has left some senior intelligence positions without a publicly announced permanent head.