By Alireza Akbari
During the Israeli regime’s early Friday strikes on residential and nuclear sites in Iran, Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Bagheri attained martyrdom.
The aggression was launched in the early hours of Friday in the capital, Tehran, and multiple other cities, assassinating top-ranking military commanders and nuclear scientists.
Mohammad Hossein Afshordi, known as Mohammad Bagheri, was born in 1960 in Tehran. His family roots trace back to the village of Afshar in Heris County, East Azerbaijan province.
Major General Bagheri began his service in the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) in 1980, joining its intelligence unit. He remained active within the IRGC throughout the imposed war.
At the time of the Islamic Revolution, he was in his final year of high school. After the revolution, he pursued technical studies and was admitted to the mechanical engineering program at Tehran Polytechnic University.
He continued his studies until 1980, and that summer, he formally joined the IRGC. From 1980 onward, he played a key role in the IRGC, particularly during the imposed war.
Between 2002 and 2014, he served as the Deputy for Intelligence and Operations at the General Staff of the Armed Forces.
Simultaneously, from 2007 to 2016, he also served as Deputy Coordinator of the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters. Between 2014 and 2016, he held the position of Deputy for General Affairs and Joint Operations at the General Staff.
In November 2019, the US Department of the Treasury added him to its sanctions list. In October 2022, the Canadian government sanctioned him on politically motivated claims.
The European Union also sanctioned him that same month for the alleged transfer of drones to Russia for use in the war in Ukraine – a claim that has been debunked by Iran.
Major General Bagheri held a Ph.D. in political geography from Tarbiat Modares University and was a faculty member at the Supreme National Defense University.
In addition to his executive responsibilities, he also taught at both the Supreme National Defense University and Tarbiat Modares.
He was a co-founder of the Iranian Geopolitics Association, alongside figures such as Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Yahya Rahim Safavi, and Gholam-Ali Rashid.
Throughout his military career, Major General Bagheri held several key military and academic positions. He served as Head of Intelligence and Operations for the IRGC Ground Forces, and later as Head of Intelligence at both the Karbala Headquarters and the Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters.
He also led the Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces. In addition, he was appointed Deputy Coordinator of the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters.
Alongside his military responsibilities, Major General Bagheri was a faculty member at the Supreme National Defense University, contributing to the academic development of Iran’s defense doctrine.
In 2008, Bagheri was promoted to the rank of Major General and due to his extensive experience in intelligence and operational sectors of Iran’s armed forces, he played a pivotal role in authoring and approving critical military strategies, including the 1996 cross-border strike into Iraq, targeting Komala and Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan bases operating in western Iran.
On 28 June 2016, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei appointed him Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, succeeding Major General Seyyed Hassan Firouzabadi.
Before that, Bagheri had served as Deputy for Intelligence and Operations and later as Deputy for General Affairs and Joint Operations at the General Staff.
Leader of the Islamic Revolution, in his message on Friday, emphasized that the successors of martyred commanders will immediately continue their missions.
“Through this crime, the Zionist regime has prepared a bitter and painful fate for itself — and it will undoubtedly face it,” the Leader warned.
