Mohammad Bagheri | |
|---|---|
.jpeg) Bagheri in 2022 | |
| Birth name | Mohammad-Hossein Afshordi[1] |
| Born | c. 1960 or 1961 (age 63–64)[2][failed verification] Tehran, Imperial State of Iran |
| Allegiance |  Iran |
| Service/ | Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps |
| Years of service | 1979–present[3] |
| Rank | Major General |
| Commands held | General Staff of Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran Operations and Intelligence Deputy of General Staff Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence and Operations, General Staff |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards |  Order of Fath (3) Order of Nasr |
Major General Mohammad Bagheri (Persian: محمد باقری, born Mohammad-Hossein Afshordi[4] (Persian: محمدحسین افشردی) is an Iranian military officer in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), who serves as the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran.[5]
Also, a military intelligence expert with his experience dating back to the Iran–Iraq War,[6] he holds a Ph.D. in political geography and reportedly teaches at Iran's Supreme National Defense University.[3] In 1980, he joined the IRGC.[7]
Mohammad Bagheri and other commanders, including Mohammad Ali Jafari, Ali Fadavi, and Gholam Ali Rashid, are members of a group identified by the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) as the IRGC Command Network. According to AEI's Critical Threats Project, the group "dominates the upper echelons of Iran's military and controls planning, operations, intelligence, covert and irregular warfare operations, and internal security."[8] He was promoted from his previous position as deputy chief of staff for intelligence and operations in the General Staff[3] on June 28, 2016, replacing Hassan Firouzabadi.[9]
In October 2017, he visited Iranian troops in Aleppo province in northern Syria.[10]
In February 2022, according to Reuters, Bagheri announced that Iran will continue advancing its ballistic missile programme, both "in terms of quantity and quality".[11]
On 21 October 2022, a White House press release stated that Iranian troops were in Crimea assisting Russia in launching drone attacks.[12] Bagheri was the commander overseeing the Iranian army branches supplying Russia with drones.[13]
On December 3 2023, Iranian Armed Forces General Staff Chief Major General Mohammad Bagheri implied during meetings in Baghdad that Iran could become directly involved in this escalation with the United States to support the effort to expel US forces.[14]
His elder brother, Hasan Bagheri, was a commander in the Iran–Iraq War.[3]
On April 8, 2019, the United States designated Iran's Revolutionary Guards as a foreign terrorist organization.[15] Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel immediately thanked Trump on Twitter.[15] "We consider the U.S. troops in West Asia to be terrorists and if they do a damn thing, we will confront them vigorously" Mohammad Bagheri said.[16]
Sanctioned by the UK government in 2022 in relation to Russo-Ukrainian War. [17]
In September 2022, following harsh suppression of protesters during the Mahsa Amini protests, Mohammad Bagheri was sanctioned by the United States and Canada.
