Mohammad Ali Jafari

Sardar
Mohammad Ali Jafari
محمدعلی جعفری
Jafari in 2019
Commander of the Baqiatallah Cultural and Social Headquarters
Incumbent
Assumed office
21 April 2019
PresidentHassan Rouhani
Ebrahim Raisi
Mohammad Mokhber (acting)
Masoud Pezeshkian
Supreme LeaderAli Khamenei
Mojtaba Khamenei
Preceded byHossein Yekta
5th Commander-in-Chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
In office
10 September 2007 – 21 April 2019
PresidentMahmoud Ahmadinejad
Hassan Rouhani
Supreme LeaderAli Khamenei
Preceded byYahya Rahim Safavi
Succeeded byHossein Salami
Commander of the Basij
In office
20 September 2007 – 12 July 2008
Acting
PresidentMahmoud Ahmadinejad
Supreme LeaderAli Khamenei
Preceded byMohammad Hejazi
Succeeded byHossein Taeb
Head of the IRGC Strategic Center
In office
2005–2007
PresidentMohammad Khatami
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Supreme LeaderAli Khamenei
Preceded byOffice Established
Succeeded byAli Akbar Ahmadian
Commander of Thar-Allah Headquarters
In office
2000–2005
PresidentMohammad Khatami
Supreme LeaderAli Khamenei
Preceded byHossein Nejat
Succeeded byNasser Shabani
Commander of the IRGC Ground Forces
In office
11 July 1992 – 20 August 2005
PresidentAkbar Hashemi Rafsanjani
Mohammad Khatami
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Supreme LeaderAli Khamenei
Preceded byMostafa Izadi
Succeeded byAhmad Kazemi
Deputy Commander of the IRGC Ground Forces
In office
1988–1992
PresidentAli Khamenei
Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani
Supreme LeaderRuhollah Khomeini
Ali Khamenei
Preceded byAbbas Mohtaj
Succeeded byAmin Shariati
Deputy for Operations of the IRGC Joint Staff
In office
1989–1990
PresidentAli Khamenei
Prime MinisterMir-Hossein Mousavi
Supreme LeaderRuhollah Khomeini
Preceded byGholam Ali Rashid
Succeeded byAhmad Gholampour
Personal details
Born (1957-09-01) 1 September 1957
Yazd, Pahlavi Iran
Awards
 3rd grade Fath Medal[1]
Nickname(s)Aziz Jafari
Ali Jafari
Military service
Allegiance Iran
Branch/service IRGC
Years of service
1981–present
Rank Major General
Commands
  • Quds Headquarters (1985–1988)
  • Najaf Ashraf Headquarters (1982–1985)
  • 1st Ashura Brigade (1981)
Battles/wars

Mohammad Ali Jafari (Persian: محمدعلی جعفری, born 1 September 1957, also known as Aziz Jafari[2] and Ali Jafari[3]) is an Iranian military officer who was the commander-in-chief of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) from 2007 to 2019.[4] He was appointed by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on 1 September 2007, succeeding Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi, and was replaced in 2019 by Hossein Salami.[5]

According to a 2 September 2007 report by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Farda, Jafari was close to the conservative subfaction, which included Mohsen Rezaee, the secretary of the Expediency Discernment Council and former commander of the 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, to whom Safavi was close.[3]

Jafari was seen as 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 subject to sanctions for providing equipment and support to help the Syrian regime suppress Syrian protesters.[6]

Biography

Jafari was born in Yazd and completed his primary and secondary education there. In 1977 he was admitted to 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 Iran–Iraq War Jafari fought with the Basij paramilitary force. In 1981, he became a part of the Revolutionary Guards where he rose to serve as a commander of operative battlefields of south and west during the early 1980s. He also participated as an assistant in the operation of Susangerd, and served as commander of the Ashura Brigade, as well as of the Headquarters of Qods and Najaf.[2]

After the war Jafari returned to university to complete his education, and in 1992 received a degree in civil (construction) technology. In 1992 and 1993, he taught at the War University of the Revolutionary Guards.[7] 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 Thar-Allah Headquarters in Tehran.[7] 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 Zolghadr, a former deputy interior minister.[3]

Asymmetrical warfare knowledge and ties to Iraq

Jafari's work on asymmetric warfare strategies includes the use of Iranian terrain in mobile-defensive operations and relies on lessons and experiences learned in the Iran–Iraq War. He said in Tehran on 3 September 2007 that, 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]

As leader of the IRGC's Center for Strategy, he led the development of the mosaic defence strategy from 2005.[8]

On 2 September 2007, Radio Farda reported Jafari had extensive fighting experience and close relations with the commanders of the former Badr Brigades of the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI).[3]

Political views

Hijab enforcement and public morality campaigns

On 8 March 2024, Jafari advocated for the deployment of hijab enforcement agents at all Tehran metro stations. He emphasized coordinated efforts with Tehran's municipal authorities to expand operations aimed at dismiss "improper hijab" behavior.[9]

Censorship and media repression

Jafari oversaw the IRGC Intelligence Organization, which has been implicated in multiple crackdowns on media and free expression. This resulted in the arrest of several journalists, including Ehsan Mazandarani and Isa Saharkhiz.[10] In addition, In February 2017, further arrests targeted Telegram users and journalists such as Hengameh Shahidi and Morad Saghafi.[11] Jafari stated during a 2014 press conference: "As we have seen, in 1999 the Leader came out strongly against this sowing of doubt, and emphasized the need for the continuing existence of the IRGC for the continuation and advancement of the regime."[12]

Crackdowns on civil and political activists

Under Jafari's command, IRGC units were involved in mass detentions of students, activists, and lawyers. Events include the “Spider” operation in 2015 and 2016 targeted social media users and models on Instagram under morality charges.[13][14] In addition, lawyers Qassem Sholeh Saadi and Arash Kaykhosravi were arrested in 2018 during peaceful activism.[15]

Israel

In 2015, Jafari declared that "The Revolutionary Guards will fight to the end of the Zionist regime." He added that Iran would "not rest easy until this epitome of vice is totally deleted from the region's geopolitics".[16]

In November 2012, Jafari announced that Iran had provided Fajr-5 rocket technology to Hamas.[17]

Sanctions

On 29 September 2010, then–U.S. President Barack Obama imposed sanctions on eight Iranians, including Mohammad Ali Jafari, due to accusations of abusing human rights in 2009.[18]

In 2011, the European Union and the UK imposed sanctions on Jafari for providing equipment and support to suppress protests in Syria.[19][20]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Poursafa, Mahdi (20 January 2014). گزارش فارس از تاریخچۀ نشان‌های نظامی ایران، از «اقدس» تا «فتح»؛ مدال‌هایی که بر سینۀ سرداران ایرانی نشسته است [From "Aghdas" to "Fath": Medals resting on the chest of Iranian Serdars]. Fars News (in Persian). Archived from the original on 21 January 2014. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 "Iran changes Revolutionary Guards commander". Reuters. 1 September 2007. Retrieved 2 September 2007.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 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. ↑ "The 'Fourth Successor': Iran's plan for a long war with the US and Israel". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 14 March 2026.
  5. ↑ "Commander-in-chief of Sepah". farsnews.ir. September 2007. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
  6. ↑ "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.
  7. 1 2 فرمانده جديد سپاه پاسداران کيست؟ - ابتکار. Ebtekar (in Persian). 2 September 2007. Archived from the original on 28 October 2014. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
  8. ↑ Connell, Michael (11 October 2010). "Iran's Military Doctrine | The Iran Primer". iranprimer.usip.org. Retrieved 27 March 2026.
  9. ↑ "IRGC Ex-Commander Vows To Counter 'Hijab Removal'". www.iranintl.com. 9 March 2024. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
  10. ↑ "Iran: Two Journalists Are Arrested". The New York Times. 3 November 2015. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
  11. ↑ CPJ Middle East and North Africa Program (15 May 2017). "Iran targets Telegram app as it seeks to control news ahead of May election". Committee to Protect Journalists. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
  12. ↑ "Iran's Widening Crackdown Pressures Rouhani". The Washington Institute. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
  13. ↑ "Iran: Arbitrary arrest and detention of human rights lawyers Ghasem Sholeh-Saadi and Arash Kaykhosravi". Human Rights Documents Online. doi:10.1163/2210-7975_hrd-9935-20180029. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
  14. ↑ "Iran Arrests 8 People In Spider II Operation Targeting Models Posing Online Without Headscarves". International Business Times. 15 May 2016.
  15. ↑ "Iran: Arbitrary arrest of human rights lawyers Ghasem Sholeh-Saadi and Arash Kaykhosravi". International Federation for Human Rights. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
  16. ↑ Goldberg, Jeffrey (9 March 2015). "The Iranian Regime on Israel's Right to Exist". The Atlantic. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
  17. ↑ "Iran's Missile Milestones". Iran Watch. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
  18. ↑ Katzman, Kenneth (26 April 2012). "Iran Sanctions" (PDF).
  19. ↑ "Official Journal of the European Union". 1 December 2011.
  20. ↑ "CONSOLIDATED LIST OF FINANCIAL SANCTIONS TARGETS IN THE UK" (PDF). 8 December 2011.
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