Sardar

Amir Ali Hajizadeh
Born (1962-02-28) 28 February 1962 (age 61)
AllegianceIran
Service/branchIslamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
Years of service1981–present
RankBrigadier General
Commands heldAerospace Force

Amir Ali Hajizadeh (Persian: امیرعلی حاجی‌زاده; born 28 February 1962 in Tehran)[1] is commander of Aerospace Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps since October 2009.[2][3]

During Eghtedar-e Velayat war game, on 8 March 2016, Hajizadeh said: "the reason we designed our missiles with a range of 2,000 km is to be able to hit our enemies from a safe distance."[4]

U.S. and Canada sanctions

On 24 June 2019, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned him, freezing any of his U.S. assets and banning U.S. persons from doing business with him.[5]

On 29 September 2022, following the protests to the death of Mahsa Amini, Canada added Amir Ali Hajizadeh's name to Consolidated Canadian Autonomous Sanctions List.[6]

The downing of PS752

Hajizadeh was the commander of Aerospace Force of IRGC on 8 January 2020 when two surface-to-air missiles were shot to the Boeing 737-800, killing all 176 passengers and crew. Islamic Republic of Iran denied that missile brought down the plane for three days and pretended it was a plane crash.[7] Some in Iran's media even called it impossible. As the evidence and international pressures escalated, IRGC issued a letter on 11 January 2020 and Hajizadeh accepted "full responsibility" for the shootdown.[8] Despite this letter, no-one from IRGC, including Hajizadeh, has been demoted or punished for the crime.

About three years later, in November 2022, Hajizadeh blamed others for late acceptance of responsibility: "The decision was made after 48 hours. We knew what happened from the first hour, but other entities and organizations did not accept it.", he also added "48 hours is not too long (to tell the truth)".[9]

Threat to kill Donald Trump and Mike Pompeo

In February 2023 Hajizadeh claimed Iran has developed a cruise missile with a range of 1,650 km, and threatened to kill former US President Donald Trump and former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. "God willing, we are looking to kill Trump. Pompeo ...and military commanders who issued the order (to kill Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani) should be killed," Hajizadeh said in the television interview.[10][11]

References

  1. ^ Sardar-Hajizadeh tabnak.ir Retrieved 22 June 2020
  2. ^ WINER, STUART (3 February 2015). "Iran boasts of rocket aid to Palestinians, Hezbollah". The Time of Israel. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  3. ^ "Enemies seek to sabotage missile program: IRGC". Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  4. ^ Sharafedin, Bozorgmehr (9 March 2016). "Despite Threat Of Sanctions, Iran Tests Missiles Marked With The Phrase 'Israel Must Be Wiped Out'". Huffingtonpost. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
  5. ^ "Issuance of Executive Order of June 24, 2019, "Imposing Sanctions with Respect to Iran;" Iran-related Designations; Counter Terrorism Designations". U.S. Department of the Treasury. Retrieved 2019-06-24.
  6. ^ Canada, Global Affairs (2015-10-19). "Consolidated Canadian Autonomous Sanctions List". GAC. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
  7. ^ "Iran denies that missile brought down Ukrainian airliner despite Canadian, U.S. assertions".
  8. ^ جزئیات حادثه سقوط هواپیمای مسافربری اوکراین از زبان سردار حاجی زاده فرمانده نیروی هوافضای سپاه, retrieved 2022-10-05
  9. ^ ایران, عصر. "ببینید | چرا اعلام علت سقوط هواپیمای اوکراینی ۴۸ ساعت طول کشید؟". fa (in Persian). Retrieved 2022-11-29.
  10. ^ "IRGC Commander Repeats Threat to Kill Trump, Pompeo".
  11. ^ "Iran says it has developed long-range cruise missile". Reuters. 24 February 2023.
Military offices Preceded byHossein Salami Commander of the Revolutionary Guards Aerospace Force 4 October 2009 – present Succeeded byIncumbent


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