Mohammad Ali Jafari

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3rd grade Fath Medal[1]

Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari (Persian: محمدعلی جعفری, born 1 September 1957, also known as Aziz Jafari[2] and Ali Jafari[3]) is a retired Iranian military officer and former commander-in-chief of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) from 2007 to 2019. He was appointed by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on 1 September 2007, succeeding Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi.[4]

According to a 2 September 2007 report by

IRGC and Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, a former IRGC member and the mayor of Tehran. The replacement of Safavi was thought to be a move to strengthen the conservative faction as a counterweight to the radicalizers around President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whom Safavi is close to.[3]

"Observers appear to regard Jafari as principally a tactician, organizer, and 'technical' military man," according to Radio Free Europe.[3] The EU's official journal said the three Iranian Revolutionary Guard members, Jafari, General Qasem Soleimani, and the Guard's deputy commander for intelligence, Hossein Taeb, were now subjects to sanctions and had been "providing equipment and support to help the Syrian regime suppress protests in Syria".[5]

Biography

Jafari was born in

Tehran University, where he studied civil (construction) technology. As a student, he participated in anti-Shah protests in Tehran, and was arrested and sent to jail for this. He represented his university department in the Islamic Organization of Tehran University.[2]

At the start of the

Ashura Battalion, as well as of the Garrisons of Qods and Najaf.[2]

After the war Jafari returned to university to complete his education, and in 1992 he received a degree in civil (construction) technology. In 1992 and 1993, he taught at the

War University of the Revolutionary Guards.[6] He was appointed to head "a strategic research center to map out new defensive and military strategies in response to what Iran's leadership has seen as evolving threats in the Middle East", according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Jafari is said to have formed many of his ideas on unconventional, or asymmetric warfare at the research center.[3]

Prior to his appointment as leader of the guards, he was also the commander of

Sar-Allah Headquarters in Tehran.[6] In 1999, according to Radio Farda, Jafari was among 24 IRGC commanders who signed a letter to President Mohammad Khatami, warning him that his liberalizing policies at a time of civil unrest in Tehran, threatened the country's leadership.[3]

Jafari is a brother-in-law of

Mohammad Bagher Zolqadr, a former deputy interior minister.[3]

Asymmetrical warfare knowledge and ties to Iraq

Jafari's work on asymmetrical warfare strategies includes the use of Iranian terrain in mobile-defensive operations and relies on lessons and experiences learned in the Iran–Iraq War. Jafari said in Tehran on 3 September 2007, given "the enemy's" numerical or technological superiority, the IRGC would use asymmetrical warfare capabilities such as those used by Hezbollah in its 2006 conflict with Israel in Lebanon. Iranian strategy would also reflect the strengths and weaknesses of U.S. forces in Afghanistan and Iraq, he said.[3]

On 2 September 2007, Radio Farda reported Jafari has extensive fighting experience and reportedly close relations with the commanders of the former

Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI).[3]

See also

References

  1. Fars News (in Persian). Archived
    from the original on 21 January 2014. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
  2. ^ a b c "Iran changes Revolutionary Guards commander". Reuters. 1 September 2007. Retrieved 2 September 2007.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Sepehri, Vahid. "Iran: New Commander Takes Over Revolutionary Guards". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Archived from the original on 20 October 2008. Retrieved 17 October 2007.
  4. ^ "Commander-in-chief of Sepah". farsnews.ir. September 2007. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
  5. ^ "Syria: Deadly protests erupt against Bashar al-Assad". BBC News. 24 June 2011. Archived from the original on 24 June 2011. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  6. ^ a b فرمانده جديد سپاه پاسداران کيست؟ - ابتکار. Ebtekar (in Persian). 2 September 2007. Archived from the original on 28 October 2014. Retrieved 28 October 2014.

External links

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Military offices
Preceded by Commander-in-Chief of the Revolutionary Guards
1 September 2007 – 21 April 2019 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Commander of the Revolutionary Guards Ground Force

12 July 1992 – 20 August 2005 		Succeeded by
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