List of Iranian two-star generals since 1979

Artesh rank insignia for Sarlashkar
IRGC rank insignia for Sarlashkar
Rank insignia of two-star officers in the IRIA (left) and the IRGC (right)

There are currently 12 two-star officers in the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran: four with the regular army (Artesh) background, seven who served in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and one with both backgrounds.

Although the ranks of general (Arteshbod) and lieutenant general (sepahbod) exist in Iran by the book, the highest military rank practically available to active duty personnel of the Iranian Armed Forces during Islamic Republic era had been two-star rank of major general (sarlashgar) and its naval equivalent rear admiral (daryaban).[1]

While Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps did not use military ranks until 1991,[2] the Islamic Republic of Iran Army was mainly headed by mere colonels until the first post-revolutionary promotion ceremony of its personnel to general ranks in May 1987, in which Qasem-Ali Zahirnejad was the only one promoted to two-star rank.[3] No two-star general has ever served in the Law Enforcement Force of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Current two-star generals

No. Portrait Name Service Branch Date of rank Position Yrs. CY
Active duty officeholders
1 Gholam Ali Rashid IRGC Ground Force 18 April 1999[4]
25 19
2 Ali Shamkhani IRGC Navy
25 18
IRIA Navy
3 Hossein Hassani Sa'di IRIA Ground Force Un­known Deputy Commander of the Khatam-al Anbiya HQ (2016–present) Un­known
4 Mohammad Bagheri IRGC Ground Force c. 2008 Chief of the Armed Forces General Staff (2016–present) 16 29
5 Mostafa Izadi IRGC Ground Force Strategic Deputy Chief of the Armed Forces General Staff 16 29
6 Abdolrahim Mousavi IRIA Ground Force 21 August 2017[5] Commander of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army (2017–present) 7 38
7 Hossein Salami IRGC Aerospace Force 21 April 2019 Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (2019–present) 5 38
Advisor-level generals
1 Ali Shahbazi IRIA Ground Force 18 February 1991[6] Chief-of-Staff/Commander of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army (1988–2000) 9 31
2 Mohsen Rezaee IRGC — Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (1981–1997) 6 11
3 Yahya Rahim Safavi IRGC Ground Force 10 September 1997 Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (1997–2007) 10 18
4 Mohammad Ali Jafari IRGC Ground Force 3 September 2007[7] Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (2007–2019) 17 27
5 Ataollah Salehi IRIA Ground Force Un­known Commander of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army (2005–2017) Un­known

Deceased two-star generals

No. Portrait Name Service Branch Date of rank Position Yrs. CY
1 Qasem-Ali Zahirnejad IRIA Ground Force 8 May 1987[3] Un­known 2 29
2 Ali Sayad Shirazi IRIA Ground Force 5 April 1999 Deputy Chief of the Armed Forces General Staff (1993–1999) 0 35
3 Mohammad Salimi IRIA Ground Force 21 May 2000[8] Commander of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army (2000–2005) 5 32
4 Qasem Soleimani IRGC Quds Force 24 January 2011[9] Commander of the Quds Force (1998–2020) 13 32
5 Hassan Firouzabadi — 17 April 1995[10] Chief of the Armed Forces General Staff (1989–2016) 21 6

References

  1. ^ Kevjn Lim (2015), "National Security Decision-Making in Iran" (PDF), Comparative Strategy (34), Taylor & Francis Group: 149–168, doi:10.1080/01495933.2015.1017347
  2. ^ Ward, Steven R. (2014). Immortal, Updated Edition: A Military History of Iran and Its Armed Forces. Georgetown University Press. p. 304. ISBN 9781626160651.
  3. ^ a b Homa Omid (2016), Islam and the Post-Revolutionary State in Iran, Springer, p. 120, ISBN 9781349232468
  4. ^ "Leader Gives Promotion Tablet of Martyr Sayad Shirazi to his Son", Islamic Republic News Agency, 18 April 1999, retrieved 5 October 2017 – via Khamenei.de
  5. ^ "Khamenei Appoints New Army Commander", Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 22 August 2017, retrieved 5 October 2017
  6. ^ "Granting Military Ranks to Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Commanders", leader.ir (in Persian), 18 February 1991, retrieved 5 October 2017
  7. ^ Alfoneh, Ali (September 2008). "What Do Structural Changes in the Revolutionary Guards Mean?" (PDF). Middle Eastern Outlooks. 7. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  8. ^ "Supreme Leader Appoints New Military Commander", Kuwait News Agency, 21 May 2000, retrieved 5 October 2017
  9. ^ Alfoneh, Ali (March 2011). "Iran's Secret Network: Major General Qassem Suleimani's Inner Circle" (PDF). Middle Eastern Outlooks. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 July 2012. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  10. ^ "The Ceremont to Grant the Rank of Major General to Dr. Seyyed Hassan Firouzabadi", leader.ir (in Persian), 17 April 1995, retrieved 5 October 2017