List of senior officers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps

The following individuals have been identified as senior officers (currently or in the past) of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which is a part of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Commanders and Deputy Commanders

Javad Mansouri was IRGC's "first unofficial commander"^[1] and acting during its "early formative phase".^[2] Abbas Agha-Zamani, however is considered the "first official operational commander" and was appointed by the Commander-in-Chief.^[1]

№	Name	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Ref
Commanders
-	Mansouri, JavadJavad Mansouri Acting	March 1979	May 1979	3 months	^[2]
-	Chamran, MostafaMostafa Chamran (1932–1981) Acting	Summer 1979	Summer 1979	de facto officeholder	^[2]
-	Rafsanjani, AkbarAkbar Hashemi Rafsanjani (1934–2017) Acting	August 1979	August 1979	less than a month	^[2]^[1]
-	Lahouti, HassanHassan Lahouti Acting	October 1979	November 1979	2 months	^[1]
-	Kian, FereydounLieutenant colonel Fereydoun Kian Acting	late 1979	late 1979	Unknown	^[2]
-	Khamenei, AliAli Khamenei (born 1939) Acting	24 November 1979	24 February 1980	7001920000000000000♠92 days	^[1]
-	Duzduzani, AbbasAbbas Duzduzani (born 1942) Acting	1980	1980	Unknown	^[1]^[3]
1	Agha-Zamani, AbbasAbbas Agha-Zamani	2 June 1980	27 June 1980	7001250000000000000♠25 days	^[4]
2	Rezaee, MortezaMorteza Rezaee	22 July 1980	20 September 1981	7002425000000000000♠1 year, 60 days	^[4]
3	Rezaee, MohsenMajor general Mohsen Rezaee (born 1954)	20 September 1981	19 September 1997	7003584300000000000♠15 years, 364 days	^[4]
4	Safavi, Yahya RahimMajor general Yahya Rahim Safavi (born 1952)	19 September 1997	10 September 2007	7003364300000000000♠9 years, 356 days	^[4]
5	Jafari, Mohammad AliMajor general Mohammad Ali Jafari (born 1957)	10 September 2007	Incumbent	7003405300000000000♠11 years, 35 days	^[4]
Deputy Commanders
1	Kolahdouz, YousefYousef Kolahdouz (1946–1981)	July 1980	29 September 1981	7002455000000000000♠1 year, 90 days	^[5]
2	Shamkhani, AliRear admiral Ali Shamkhani (born 1955)	June 1982	24 September 1989	7003267200000000000♠7 years, 115 days	^[2]^[6]
3	Safavi, Yahya RahimMajor general Yahya Rahim Safavi (born 1952)	24 September 1989	10 September 1997	7003290800000000000♠7 years, 351 days	–
4	Bagher Zolghadr, MohammadBrigadier general Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr (born c. 1954/1955)	13 September 1997	30 April 2006	7003315100000000000♠8 years, 229 days	–
5	Rezaee, MortezaMorteza Rezaee	30 April 2006	22 May 2008	7002753000000000000♠2 years, 22 days	–
6	Hejazi, MohammadBrigadier general Mohammad Hejazi (born 1956)	22 May 2008	4 October 2009	7002500000000000000♠1 year, 135 days	–
7	Salami, HosseinBrigadier general Hossein Salami (born 1960)	4 October 2009	Incumbent	7003329800000000000♠9 years, 11 days	–

Chiefs of the Joint Staff

№	Chief	Took office	Left office	Time in office
1	Afshar, AlirezaBrigadier general Alireza Afshar (born c. 1951)	1984	1987	2–3 years
2	Forouzandeh, MohammadMohammad Forouzandeh (born 1960)	1987	1989	1–2 years
3	Zolghadr, Mohammad BagherBrigadier general Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr (born c. 1954/1955)	1989	1997	7–8 years
4	Alaei, HosseinBrigadier general Hossein Alaei	1997	2000	2–3 years
5	Ahmadian, Ali AkbarAli Akbar Ahmadian	2000	2007	6–7 years
6	Hejazi, MohammadBrigadier general Mohammad Hejazi (born 1956)	2007	2008	0–1 years
7	Abromand, JamaladinBrigadier general Jamaladin Abromand	2008	2018	9–10 years
8	Fadavi, AliCommodore Ali Fadavi	2018	Incumbent	0 years

Commanders of military branches

№	Commander	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Ref
Ground Forces
1	Safavi, Yahya RahimMajor general Yahya Rahim Safavi (born 1952)	1985	1989	3–4 years	–
2	Izadi, MostafaMajor general Mostafa Izadi	1989	1992	2–3 years	–
3	Jafari, Mohammad AliMajor general Mohammad Ali Jafari (born 1957)	1992	2005	12–13 years	–
4	Kazemi, AhmadBrigadier general Ahmad Kazemi (1958–2006)	2005	9 January 2006 †	0–1 years	^[7]
5	Zahedi, Mohammad RezaBrigadier general Mohammad Reza Zahedi (born 1944)	2006	2008	1–2 years	–
6	Asadi, Mohammad JafarMohammad Jafar Asadi (born 1958)	2008	2009	0–1 years	–
7	Pakpour, MohammadBrigadier general Mohammad Pakpour	2009	Incumbent	8–9 years	–
Aerospace Force
1	Rafan, AkbarAkbar Rafan	1985	1990	4–5 years	–
2	Dehghan, HosseinBrigadier general Hossein Dehghan (born 1957)	1990	1991	0–1 years	–
3	Jalali, Mohammad HosseinBrigadier general Mohammad Hossein Jalali	1991	1997	5–6 years	–
4	Ghalibaf, Mohammad BagherBrigadier general Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf (born 1961)	1997	2000	2–3 years	–
5	Kazemi, AhmadBrigadier general Ahmad Kazemi (1958–2006)	2000	2005	4–5 years	–
6	Zahedi, Mohammad RezaBrigadier general Mohammad Reza Zahedi (born 1944)	2005	2006	0–1 years	–
7	Salami, HosseinBrigadier general Hossein Salami (born 1960)	2006	2009	2–3 years	–
8	Hajizadeh, Amir AliBrigadier general Amir Ali Hajizadeh	2009	Incumbent	8–9 years	–
Navy
1	Alaei, HosseinBrigadier general Hossein Alaei	1985	1990	4–5 years	–
2	Shamkhani, AliRear admiral Ali Shamkhani (born 1955)	1990	1997	6–7 years	–
3	Ahmadian, Ali AkbarAli Akbar Ahmadian	1997	2000	2–3 years	–
4	Saffari, MortezaMorteza Saffari	2000	2010	9–10 years	–
5	Fadavi, AliCommodore Ali Fadavi	2010	2018	7–8 years	–
6	Tangsiri, AlirezaCommodore Alireza Tangsiri	2018	Incumbent	0 years	–
Quds Force
1	Vahidi, AhmadBrigadier general Ahmad Vahidi (born 1958)	1988	1998	9–10 years	–
2	Soleimani, QasemMajor general Qasem Soleimani (born 1957)	1998	Incumbent	19–20 years	–
Basij
1	Rahmani, Mohammad-AliMohammad-Ali Rahmani	1984	1990	5–6 years	–
2	Afshar, AlirezaBrigadier general Alireza Afshar (born c. 1951)	1990	1998	7–8 years	–
3	Hejazi, MohammadBrigadier general Mohammad Hejazi (born 1956)	1998	2007	8–9 years	–
4	Taeb, HosseinHossein Taeb (born 1963)	2007	2009	1–2 years	–
5	Naqdi, Mohammad RezaBrigadier general Mohammad Reza Naqdi (born c. 1952 or 1961)	2009	2016	6–7 years	–
6	Gheybparvar, GholamhosseinBrigadier general Gholamhossein Gheybparvar	2016	Incumbent	1–2 years	–

Chairmen of intelligence agencies

№	Chairman	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Ref
Intelligence Organization
1	Taeb, HosseinHossein Taeb (born 1963)	2009	Incumbent	8–9 years	–
Intelligence Protection Organization
1	Shahroudi, Ali SaeediAli Saeedi Shahroudi	1984	1994	9–10 years	–
2	Rezaee, MortezaBrigadier general Morteza Rezaee	1994	2006	11–12 years	–
3	Ramezani, Gholam-HosseinGholam-Hossein Ramezani	2006	2008	1–2 years	–
4	Kazemi, MohammadBrigadier general Mohammad Kazemi	2008	Incumbent	9–10 years	–

Ministers

№		Minister	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Ref
1		Rafighdoost, MohsenBrigadier general Mohsen Rafighdoost (born 1940)	November 1982	20 September 1988	7003215000000000000♠5 years, 324 days	–
2		Shamkhani, AliRear admiral Ali Shamkhani (born 1955)	20 September 1988	21 August 1989	7002335000000000000♠335 days	–

Other senior officers

These people have been identified as senior members of IRGC, either at present or at some point in the past:

(in alphabetical order)

Alireza Afshar, a former IRGC officer, appointed by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as deputy interior minister for political affairs and head of the ministry's election headquarters.^[8]
Vice Admiral Ali Akbar Ahmadian (Chief of IRGC Joint Staff)^[9]
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, former president of Iran, "fought for IRGC during the 1980–88 Iran–Iraq War. After taking office in 2005 he promoted five former IRGC members into cabinet posts."^[10]
Ahmad Reza Asghari, diplomat and former third secretary of the Iranian embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina, also a delegate to a 2002 U.N. conference in Geneva, where he was listed as the Iranian foreign ministry's first secretary in the department for international economic affairs (also known as "Moshen Randjbaran", and not to be confused with Ali Reza Asghari^[11]
Ali-Reza Asgari, a former IRGC commander who either defected or was kidnapped by a foreign intelligence service from Turkey in 2006, not to be confused with Ahmad Reza Asghari.^[11]
Esmail Daghayeghi, founder of the Badr Organization, originally made up of Iraqi exiles in Iran; a member of IRGC^[12]
Minojahar Frouzanda, general, the current head of intelligence for IRGC.^[13]
Mohammad Hejazi, brigadier general, Commander-in-chief of the Mobilized Basij forces^[9]^[14]
Mohammad Montazeri, founding member and leading chief of IRGC.^[15]
Abdol-Ali Najafi, brigadier general, Secret unit^[16]
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, a former IRGC member and, as of 2007, mayor of Tehran.^[8]
Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, former president of Iran^[11]
Morteza Rezaie, brigadier general, Deputy Commander of IRGC^[9]
Morteza Saffari, rear admiral, IRGC Navy^[9]^[17]
Hossein Salami, brigadier general, IRGC Aerospace Force^[18]
Mohsen Sazegara, IRGC founding member, exiled analyst^[8]
Qasem Soleimani, brigadier general, Quds Force^[9]^[19]
Ahmad Vahidi, Iran's deputy defense minister, founder of IRGC "Lebanon Corps" in the 1980s, according to Iran analyst Alireza Jafarzadeh.^[11]
Mohammad-Reza Zahedi, brigadier general, IRGC Ground Forces^[9]^[18]
Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, former IRGC officer; as of 2007 a deputy interior minister and brother-in-law of IRGC commander Mohammad Ali Jafari.^[8]^[9]

References

1 2 3 4 5 6 Steven O'Hern (2012). Iran's Revolutionary Guard: The Threat That Grows While America Sleeps. Potomac Books, Inc. pp. 18, 22–23. ISBN 1597977012.
1 2 3 4 5 6 Nikola B. Schahgaldian, Gina Barkhordarian (March 1987), The Iranian Military Under the Islamic Republic (PDF), RAND, p. 118, ISBN 0-8330-0777-7, retrieved 15 January 2017
↑ Sinkaya, Bayram (2015), The Revolutionary Guards in Iranian Politics: Elites and Shifting Relations, Routledge, pp. 96–97, ISBN 1317525647
1 2 3 4 5 Forozan, Hesam (2015), The Military in Post-Revolutionary Iran: The Evolution and Roles of the Revolutionary Guards, Routledge, Table 2.1: Commander-in-Chief of the Sepah Since 1979, p 59, ISBN 9781317430742
↑ Allamian, Saeed (2016). I say for the history: Memories of Mohsen Rafighdoust (in Persian). Soore-ye Mehr. p. 127. ISBN 9786000302931. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
↑ Katzman, Kenneth (September 1993). "The Pasdaran: institutionalization of revolutionary armed force". Iranian Studies. Routledge. 26 (3–4): 389–402. doi:10.1080/00210869308701809. Retrieved 8 November 2017 – via Taylor & Francis Online (subscription required).
↑ "Plane crash kills Iran commander". BBC News. 9 January 2006. Retrieved 25 December 2011.
1 2 3 4 Sepehri, Vahid, "Iran: New Commander Takes Over Revolutionary Guards" Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Retrieved 17 October 2007
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "UN Security Council Resolution 1747, Iran". Council on Foreign Relations. 24 March 2007. Retrieved 24 July 2009.
↑ "Iran Replaces Revolutionary Guards' Head" by Forbes staff, article in Forbes magazine, September 1, 2007
1 2 3 4 Stephens, Bret, "Global View" columnist on the editorial pages of The Wall Street Journal, article titled, "Iran's al Qaeda", October 16, 2007; Page A20; ("All were, or are, senior officers in the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp.")
↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-04-16. Retrieved 2007-10-17. "Iran: Expert Discusses Iran's Quds Force And U.S. Charges Concerning Iraq", article at the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Web site, 16 February 2007, Retrieved 17 October 2007
↑ "The botched US raid that led to the hostage crisis." Archived 2007-04-06 at the Wayback Machine. The Independent. 2 April 2007. Retrieved 2 April 2007.
↑ Global Security Web site, Niruyeh Moghavemat Basij Mobilisation Resistance Force
↑ Ebrahim, Amir Farshad (7 September 2010). "IRGC History". Iran Briefing. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
↑ Iran: New chief appointed for secretive military unit
↑ Iran to hold large-scale naval war games Iran Focus
1 2 http://www.khamenei.ir/EN/Message/detail.jsp?id=20060121A Archived 2007-10-14 at the Wayback Machine.
↑ Iran Revolutionary Guards expect key changes in high command

External links

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[pb-1] 1 2 3 4 5 6 Steven O'Hern (2012). Iran's Revolutionary Guard: The Threat That Grows While America Sleeps. Potomac Books, Inc. pp. 18, 22–23. ISBN 1597977012.

[R-2] 1 2 3 4 5 6 Nikola B. Schahgaldian, Gina Barkhordarian (March 1987), The Iranian Military Under the Islamic Republic (PDF), RAND, p. 118, ISBN 0-8330-0777-7, retrieved 15 January 2017

[b-3] Sinkaya, Bayram (2015), The Revolutionary Guards in Iranian Politics: Elites and Shifting Relations, Routledge, pp. 96–97, ISBN 1317525647

[F-4] 1 2 3 4 5 Forozan, Hesam (2015), The Military in Post-Revolutionary Iran: The Evolution and Roles of the Revolutionary Guards, Routledge, Table 2.1: Commander-in-Chief of the Sepah Since 1979, p 59, ISBN 9781317430742

[5] Allamian, Saeed (2016). I say for the history: Memories of Mohsen Rafighdoust (in Persian). Soore-ye Mehr. p. 127. ISBN 9786000302931. Retrieved 8 November 2017.

[Katzman-6] Katzman, Kenneth (September 1993). "The Pasdaran: institutionalization of revolutionary armed force". Iranian Studies. Routledge. 26 (3–4): 389–402. doi:10.1080/00210869308701809. Retrieved 8 November 2017 – via Taylor & Francis Online (subscription required).

[7] "Plane crash kills Iran commander". BBC News. 9 January 2006. Retrieved 25 December 2011.

[rfevs-8] 1 2 3 4 Sepehri, Vahid, "Iran: New Commander Takes Over Revolutionary Guards" Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Retrieved 17 October 2007

[UNSC1747-9] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "UN Security Council Resolution 1747, Iran". Council on Foreign Relations. 24 March 2007. Retrieved 24 July 2009.

[forb-10] "Iran Replaces Revolutionary Guards' Head" by Forbes staff, article in Forbes magazine, September 1, 2007

[gv-11] 1 2 3 4 Stephens, Bret, "Global View" columnist on the editorial pages of The Wall Street Journal, article titled, "Iran's al Qaeda", October 16, 2007; Page A20; ("All were, or are, senior officers in the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp.")

[12] "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-04-16. Retrieved 2007-10-17. "Iran: Expert Discusses Iran's Quds Force And U.S. Charges Concerning Iraq", article at the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Web site, 16 February 2007, Retrieved 17 October 2007

[Indep-13] "The botched US raid that led to the hostage crisis." Archived 2007-04-06 at the Wayback Machine. The Independent. 2 April 2007. Retrieved 2 April 2007.

[14] Global Security Web site, Niruyeh Moghavemat Basij Mobilisation Resistance Force

[amir7sep-15] Ebrahim, Amir Farshad (7 September 2010). "IRGC History". Iran Briefing. Retrieved 27 July 2013.

[16] Iran: New chief appointed for secretive military unit

[17] Iran to hold large-scale naval war games Iran Focus

[SeniorComm-18] 1 2 http://www.khamenei.ir/EN/Message/detail.jsp?id=20060121A Archived 2007-10-14 at the Wayback Machine.

[19] Iran Revolutionary Guards expect key changes in high command

Commanders of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
Commander-in-Chief	Agha-Zamani (1980) Morteza Rezaee (1980) Mohsen Rezaee (1980–97) Safavi (1997–07) Jafari (2007–present)
Chief of Joint Staff	Afshar (1984–87) Forouzandeh (1987–89) Zolghadr (1989–97) Alaei (1997–00) Ahmadian (2000–07) Hejazi (2007–08)
Ground Force	Safavi (1985–89) Izadi (1989–92) Jafari (1992–05) Kazemi (2005–06) Zahedi (2006–08) Asadi (2008–09) Pakpour (2009–present)
Aerospace Force	Refan (1985–90) Dehghan (1990–91) Jalali (1991–97) Ghalibaf (1997–00) Kazemi (2000–05) Zahedi (2005–06) Salami (2006–09) Hajizadeh (2009–present)
Navy	Alaei (1985–90) Shamkhani (1990–97) Ahmadian (1997–00) Saffari (2000–10) Fadavi (2010–18) Tangsiri (2018–present)
Quds Force	Vahidi (1988–98) Soleimani (1998–present)
Mobilization Force	Rahmani (1984–90) Afshar (1990–98) Hejazi (1998–07) Taeb (2007–09) Naqdi (2009–16) Gheybparvar (2016–present)
Intelligence	Taeb (2009–present)
Intelligence Protection	Saeedi (1984–94) Morteza Rezaee (1994–06) Ramezani (2006–08) Kazemi (2008–present)
Supreme Leader Representative	Lahouti (1979) Mahallati (1980–81; 1983–86) Taheri (1981–82) Faker (1982–83) Nouri (1989–90) Mohammadi (1990–91) Movahedi (1991–06) Saeedi (2006–18) Hajisadeghi (2018–present)
Ministers	Rafighdoost (1982–88) Shamkhani (1988–89)
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Sardars