Tehran shakes up military top brass: Hatami named Army Chief, Mousavi to lead armed forces

General Amir Hatami appointed Iran's new army chief

In a significant reshuffle of Iran’s military leadership, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has appointed Major General Amir Hatami as the new Chief Commander of the Army, according to the Tehran Times.

He has also appointed General Abdolrahim Mousavi as the new Chief of the Armed Forces, replacing General Mohammad Bagheri. Additionally, Mohammad Pakpour was named the new commander of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, succeeding General Hossein Salami, according to an AP report.

This follows the deaths of General Mohammad Hossein Bagheri, head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and General Hossein Salami, commander of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, in a series of Israeli airstrikes on Iran’s capital.

According to an official decree on Friday, the decision was announced where Khamenei stated Hatami’s “dedication, competence, and experience” as the basis for the appointment.

“With the Army’s vast pool of capable and faithful personnel, and the experience gained during the Sacred Defense and beyond, it is expected that under your command, efforts to enhance combat readiness, strengthen spiritual and ideological foundations, improve personnel welfare, and boost cooperation with other branches of the Armed Forces will accelerate,” the decree read.

Who is Amir Hatami?

Hatami, 59, has taken over command of Iran’s regular military forces amid rising regional tensions, succeeding Hossein Dehghan and preceding Mohammad Reza Gharaei Ashtiani.

He served as Iran’s Defense Minister from 2013 to 2021 and is the first defense minister in over 20 years with a background in the Artesh, marking a departure from the longstanding trend since 1989 of appointing Revolutionary Guards officers to the role.

Hatami is a graduate of the Imam Ali Officers' Academy, AJA University of Command and Staff, and the National Defense University.

Who is Gen. Abdolrahim Mousavi?

Previously serving as the Commander-in-Chief of Iran's Army, Mousavi has been sanctioned by the U.S., European Union, United Kingdom, and Australia, according to ‘United Against Nuclear Iran’.

The U.S. sanctioned him in 2023 for alleged serious human rights abuses, blocking all property and interests under U.S. jurisdiction. The EU imposed similar sanctions, citing responsibility for major human rights violations in Iran.