Ahmad Kazemi | |
|---|---|
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| Born | (1958-07-22)22 July 1958 Najafabad,Isfahan province,Imperial State of Iran |
| Died | 9 January 2006(2006-01-09) (aged 47) Urmia,West Azarbaijan,Iran |
| Allegiance | Iran |
| Service | Revolutionary Guards |
| Years of service | 1981–2006 |
| Rank | Brigadier general |
| Commands | 8th Najaf Ashraf Armoured Division 14th Imam Hossein Division Air Force[1] Ground Force[2] |
| Battles / wars | 1979 Kurdish rebellion Iran–Iraq War (WIA) Southern Lebanon conflict |
| Awards |  3rd gradeOrder of Fath (3)[3] |
SayyidAhmad Kazemi (Persian:احمد کاظمی) (22 July 1958 – 9 January 2006) was an Iranian army brigadier general and one of the most notable soldiers in theIran–Iraq War.
He was born on 22 July 1958 inNajaf Abad,Isfahan. His father, Eshghali (عشقعلی),[4] was a commander ofImperial Army of Iran but withdrew in 1974 before the beginning of theIranian revolution. They moved toLebanon in 1975. Ahmad with his father joined the fighters inSouthern Lebanon. With the emergence of the Iranian revolution, he struggled againstmonarchy. After the victory of the Revolution and establishment ofIRGC (Sepah) in 1980, he joined the Sepah and went toKurdistan in 1981 to fight in the1979 Kurdish rebellion in Iran.
AsIran–Iraq War began, he joined the war with a 50-member group inAbadan fronts and began fighting withIraq. At the end of the war, the 50-member group became a powerful and important division of Sepah. Direct presence at the front line lead to injuries of his leg, hands and back. One of his fingers was cut. After the end of the war, he attended the university and got a BA degree in geography and a master's degree in management and defense spending. He made his doctoral studies in the field of national defense. He was appointed as Commander ofGround Forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on 1 June 2005 by the Supreme LeaderAli Khamenei. He was one of the military advisors toPresidentsAli Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani andMahmoud Ahmadinejad.
He was a close friend ofMehdi Bakeri andHossein Kharrazi as well as Quds Force commanderQasem Soleimani.[5][6]
Ahmad Kazemi was appointed as the commander of14th Imam Hossein Division on 18 December 1997, and was subsequently appointed to theAir Forces of the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution (IRGC AF) Commander on 29 June 2000.
During his tenure in the IRGC Air Force, Kazemi took effective measures to improve the quality of the air force in terms of organization and structure, and for the first time equipped the IRGC AF with close air supportSukhoi Su-25 aircraft, and equipped the IRGC AF helicopter organization with purchasedMil Mi-17 helicopters. He was also in contact with the IRGC's missile unit and assistedHassan Tehrani Moghaddam in developing ballistic missile projects.
When theBam earthquake happened in year 2003, Kazemi mobilized theIRGC AF fleet to rescue the Bam earthquake victims by preparing the Bam Airport. Such a way that, a plane and a helicopter flew in every 13 minutes and a total of 30 thousand wounded were moved by theIRGC AF fleet.[7]
He was married in 1978. He had two sons, Mohammad Mehdi (born 1980) and Saeed (born 1989). His eldest son, Mohammad Mehdi is now a civil engineer.
He was killed when theDassault Falcon 20 plane that was carrying him, alongside 10 other occupants, crashed nearUrmia. According to the Aviation Safety Network,[8] the plane "crash-landed in a field in poor weather conditions... Reports indicate that the crew did not get three greens after selecting the gear down while on approach to Orumiyeh Airport. A flypast was done so the control tower could observe the status of the landing gear. While circling the airplane suffered a double engine flame-out, reportedly as a result of engine icing. An emergency landing was attempted in a field, but the Falcon crashed". Reports that the plane crashed due to sabotage or a bomb are still unproven. His funeral was held inTehran and Iranian LeaderAli Khamenei attended as well.[9]
In a letter, Iran's Leader Ali Khamenei wrote that,[10]
Two weeks ago Martyr Kazemi came to see me. He told me, "I would like to ask you to do me two favors. First, pray to Almighty Allah that I will end up as an honorable person. Second, pray that I will attain martyrdom."
I told him, "It will really be a pity if you and others like you die an ordinary death. You and others who have passed through all those crucial stages should not die. You should all end up as martyrs. However, it is not yet time for this, since our country and our Islamic system still need you."
I further said, "The day when I was informed about the martyrdom of GeneralSayyad-Shirazi, I said that he was worthy of martyrdom, that he deserved to be martyred. It would have been a pity if he had died an ordinary death."
When I said this, the eyes of Martyr Kazemi became filled with tears, and he told me, "God willing, you will receive the news of my martyrdom too!"
| Military offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Commander of the Revolutionary Guards Air Force 28 June 2000 – 25 August 2005 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Commander of the Revolutionary Guards Ground Forces 20 August 2005 – 9 January 2006 | Succeeded by |
| Commander-in-Chief |
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| Chief ofJoint Staff | ||
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| Quds Force | ||
| Mobilization Force | ||
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| Intelligence Protection |
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| Supreme Leader Representative | ||
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