By Humaira Ahad
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has appointed Major General Mohammad Pakpour as the new commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) following the assassination of Major General Hossein Salami.
Hours after the brutal assassination of Major General Salami by the Israeli regime in the wee hours of Friday morning, Ayatollah Khamenei announced the appointment of his successor in a decree.
“In view of the honorable and proud martyrdom of Lieutenant General Hossein Salami at the hands of the wicked Zionist regime, and given your qualifications and valuable experience, I hereby appoint you, while promoting you to the rank of Major General, as the Commander-in-Chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps,” read the decree.
Major General Salami, the former IRGC commander-in-chief, was assassinated in a treacherous Israeli terrorist attack in Tehran early Friday in the capital Tehran.
The strikes also claimed the lives of several other prominent military and scientific figures, alongside civilians, including Major General Mohammad Bagheri, the Chief of Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces and IRGC aerospace commander Amir Ali Hajizadeh.
Born in 1961 in Arak, central Iran, Major General Pakpour holds a master’s degree in geography from the University of Tehran and a Ph.D. in political geography from Tarbiat Modares University.
His expertise lies in managing Iran’s volatile border regions and developing the doctrine of asymmetric warfare.
Joining the IRGC Quds Force after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Pakpour was immediately deployed to combat terrorist groups in Iran’s Kurdistan region.
During the Imposed War in the 1980s, he commanded multiple frontline divisions, including the elite 8th Najaf Ashraf and 31st Ashura units.
Wounded in combat, Pakpour earned a reputation as a resilient, pragmatic commander deeply committed to the ideological foundations of the Islamic Republic.
After the war, he took on strategic leadership roles within the IRGC. In 2009, Pakpour was appointed commander of the IRGC Ground Forces, spearheading efforts to modernize, restructure, and reposition Iran’s military strategy amid mounting foreign threats.
Pakpour’s role in counterterrorism is especially notable. He directed the deployment of elite Saberin units during the 2017 Daesh terror attacks on the Iranian parliament and Imam Khomeini’s mausoleum, demonstrating the IRGC’s critical role in safeguarding the nation.
In 2021, the European Union sanctioned Pakpour on flimsy pretexts, like many other IRGC commanders sanctioned over the years.
Many analysts see Major General Pakpour’s appointment—known for his operational discipline and regional expertise—as a decisive step toward reinforcing Iran’s resistance against American and Zionist terrorism in the region.
His leadership is expected to shape Iran’s response to the latest Zionist aggression, signaling that the Islamic Republic will not be intimidated by covert assassinations but will emerge even more resolute and steadfast.
