Mohammad Ali Jafari | |
|---|---|
 Jafari in 2019 | |
| Native name | محمدعلی جعفری |
| Nicknames | Aziz Jafari Ali Jafari |
| Born | (1957-09-01)1 September 1957 (age 68) |
| Allegiance | Iran |
| Branch | Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps |
| Years of service | 1981–2019 |
| Rank | Major general |
| Commands | Ground Forces |
| Battles / wars | |
| Awards |  3rd grade Fath Medal[1] |
Major GeneralMohammad Ali Jafari (Persian:محمدعلی جعفری, born 1 September 1957, also known asAziz Jafari[2] andAli Jafari[3]) is a retiredIranian military officer who was the commander-in-chief of theIranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) from 2007 to 2019. He was appointed bySupreme LeaderAli Khamenei on 1 September 2007, succeeding Major GeneralYahya Rahim Safavi.[4]
According to a 2 September 2007 report byRadio Free Europe,Radio Farda, Jafari was close to the conservative subfaction, which includedMohsen Rezaee, the secretary of theExpediency Discernment Council and former commander of the IRGC andMohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, a former IRGC member and the mayor ofTehran. The replacement of Safavi was thought to be a move to strengthen the conservative faction as a counterweight to the radicalizers around PresidentMahmoud 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, GeneralQasem Soleimani, and the Guard's deputy commander for intelligence,Hossein Taeb, were subject to sanctions for providing equipment and support to Syrian protesters.[5]
Jafari was born inYazd and completed his primary and secondary education there. In 1977 he was admitted toTehran 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 theIran–Iraq War Jafari fought with theBasij 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[clarification needed] in the operation ofSusangerd, and served as commander of theAshura Battalion, as well as of the Garrisons 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 theWar University of the Revolutionary Guards.[6] 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 toRadio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Jafari is said to have formed many of his ideas onunconventional orasymmetric warfare at the research center.[3]
Prior to his appointment as leader of the guards, he was also the commander ofThar-Allah Headquarters inTehran.[6] In 1999, according toRadio Farda, Jafari was among 24 IRGC commanders who signed a letter to PresidentMohammad 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 ofMohammad Bagher Zolqadr, a former deputy interior minister.[3]
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 theIran–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 byHezbollah in its 2006 conflict withIsrael in Lebanon. Iranian strategy would also reflect the strengths and weaknesses of U.S. forces in Afghanistan and Iraq, he said.[3]
On 2 September 2007, Radio Farda reported Jafari had extensive fighting experience and close relations with the commanders of the formerBadr Brigades of theSupreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI).[3]
On 8 March 2024, Jafari advocated for the deployment ofhijab 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.[7]
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.[8] In addition, In February 2017, further arrests targeted Telegram users and journalists such as Hengameh Shahidi and Morad Saghafi.[9] 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."[10]
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.[11][12] In addition, lawyers Qassem Sholeh Saadi and Arash Kaykhosravi were arrested in 2018 during peaceful activism.[13]
In 2015, Jafari declared that "The Revolutionary Guards will fight to the end of theZionist regime." He added that Iran would "not rest easy until this epitome of vice istotally deleted from the region's geopolitics".[14]
In November 2012, Jafari announced that Iran had providedFajr-5 rocket technology toHamas.[15]
On 29 September 2010, then–U.S. PresidentBarack Obama imposed sanctions on eight Iranians, including Mohammad Ali Jafari, due to accusations of abusing human rights in 2009.[16]
In 2011, the European Union and the UK imposed sanctions on Jafari for providing equipment and support to suppress protests in Syria.[17][18]
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Commander-in-Chief of the Revolutionary Guards 1 September 2007 – 21 April 2019 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Commander of the Revolutionary Guards Ground Force 12 July 1992 – 20 August 2005 | Succeeded by |
| Commander-in-Chief |
|  |
|---|---|---|
| Chief ofJoint Staff | ||
| Ground Force | ||
| Aerospace Force | ||
| Navy | ||
| Quds Force | ||
| Mobilization Force | ||
| Intelligence | ||
| Intelligence Protection |
| |
| Supreme Leader Representative | ||
| Ministers |
| |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
