Security Chief: Leader’s Appointments ‘Disrupted’ U.S., Israeli Calculations
TEHRAN -- Iran’s top security official on Sunday praised Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei’s recent appointment of six senior military commanders, stating the decision has “disrupted the calculations” of the United States and Israel.
In a letter to the Leader, Mohsen Rezaei—Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and the Leader’s Representative—described the appointments as “timely and worthy.”
The new commanders, he noted, possess distinguished records spanning from the 1980s Iran-Iraq War to the present day.
Rezaei, a former IRGC chief commander, said the reshuffle demonstrates that Iran under Ayatollah Khamenei remains committed to the principles of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
He urged the new appointees to “resolutely confront any possible aggression” against the country.
The appointments, announced last week, include Major General Ali Abdollahi as Chief of the General Staff, with Brigadier General Kioumars Heydari as his deputy. Major General Ahmad Vahidi was named IRGC Commander-in-Chief, alongside Major General Mostafa Izadi as his deputy. Rear Admiral Ali Ozamaei will lead the IRGC Navy, while cleric Hussein Taeb—a veteran of the IRGC’s intelligence branch—was appointed Head of the Basij force.
The military shake-up comes six months after the U.S. and Israel launched a war of aggression that resulted in the assassination of several top Iranian commanders.