New Delhi: Following the killing of Hossein Salami, Chief of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), in Israeli airstrike, Major General Amir Hatami has been appointed as the Chief Commander of the Army of the Islamic Republic of Iran (Artesh).
Salami, 65, was killed in an airstrike early on Friday. He was known for his hardline stance against Iran’s rivals, including both Iran and the US, according to a BBC report.
The decision to appoint Hatami as the Chief Commander was announced by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, at a time when the country is at war with Israel after the Israel’s direct attack on Iran.
General Hatami, a veteran military officer and former defense minister, brings decades of experience to the role. He served as Iran’s defense minister from 2018 to 2021 under President Hassan Rouhani. He was the first Artesh officer in over two decades to head the ministry, a position traditionally dominated by members of the IRGC.
Hatami’s appointment is seen as a shift toward empowering the army alongside the IRGC amid the current security challenges.
Khamenei praised Hatami’s “competence and dedication,” instructing him to lead the army with a “transformative and revolutionary spirit.”
Brief account of Amir Hatami
Amir Hatami, 59, has previously served as the head of the Army’s international relations office and as a deputy in the Armed Forces General Staff. He succeeded Hossein Dehghan and was followed by Mohammad Reza Gharaei Ashtiani. Having served as Iran’s defense minister, he now commands the country’s regular military forces.
Hatami is the first defense minister with an Artesh background in over two decades, breaking a pattern that has been in place since 1989.
Iran-Israel conflict
Israel and Iran engaged in a series of missile exchanges and airstrikes early on Friday, resulting in the deaths of several military leaders, including Hossein Salami, the head of the IRGC, Major General Mohammad Bagheri, Chief of Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces, and Ali Shamkhani, a close aide to Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei. Several prominent nuclear scientists were also killed in the attack.
