The “critical illness rumor” refers to the supreme leader’s 7-hour meeting with the president...Military personnel reshuffle carried out with a “hardliner-only” lineup
[Dailian = Reporter Kim Gyu-hwan] The Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Seyyed Mohd-Ztava Khamenei, who was once rumored to be critically ill, held a seven-hour meeting with President Masoud Fazekjian and then carried out his first major military personnel reshuffle since taking office. As U.S. President Donald Trump, who had continued to apply strong military pressure on Iran, shifts toward “economic pressure,” his next move is drawing attention.
According to Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency, President Feshekhian attended a meeting of the “Secretaries-General of Political Parties and Politicians” held at the Ministry of the Interior that day, and after meeting with Moztava, said, “The supreme leader’s health is very good, and he has presented several guidelines,” adding, “I expressed my concerns and issues, and he listened to my story with ease.”
Meanwhile, "The meeting with the Islamic revolutionary leader was very good. I was able to meet with him for about seven hours and discuss all the country’s pressing issues,” he added, noting that the most important topics discussed during this meeting were the people’s livelihoods, employment, and housing problems. He went on to add, “Issues arising from sanctions, the positions of the government and the people, public support, and unity and solidarity were also matters that were discussed in detail at this meeting.”
President Feshekhian’s earlier statement on the 5th that “communication with the supreme leader is currently very difficult” also became the basis for the “Moztava critical illness rumor” raised by Iran’s dissident media. At the time, an Iranian dissident media outlet reported, "There are widespread rumors that it would not be surprising if Moztava were soon to die at the hands of Iran’s leadership." She revealed that she had met him for seven hours over five days.
Meanwhile, on this day, Moztava carried out personnel changes involving top military officials, including the Chief of Staff of the Iranian Army and the Commander-in-Chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Major General Ali Abdolahi was appointed Chief of Staff of the Iranian forces. He is the successor to former Chief of Staff Abdolahim Musavi, who died in the U.S. and Israel’s airstrike on Iran that began on February 28. Brigadier General Kiyomars Heydariz was appointed Deputy Chief of Staff, and Major General Ahmad Bahidi was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), respectively.
Mossafa Izadi was appointed deputy commander of the Revolutionary Guards, Ali Azmaei was appointed commander of the Revolutionary Guards Navy, and Ayatollah Hussein Taebe was appointed commander of the Bhashij militia. Many of Iran’s key military and security posts had not yet been formally appointed after their predecessors were killed in the U.S.-Israel airstrikes carried out at the end of February.
Moztava emphasized, “In consideration of General Musavi’s honorable and glorious martyrdom by Zionist (Israeli)-anti-American forces, General Abdolahi’s distinguished service record, and valuable experience, he is hereby appointed to the position of Chief of the General Staff.” It went on to urge the military leadership to strengthen the comprehensive and modernized defense and security capabilities and readiness of the military and the Bhashids militia, to develop means of response to conventional and modern military, cognitive, and hybrid (mixed) threats targeting Iran, and to complete the integration process of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Central Command.
Professor Sina Azodi of George Washington University told Al Jazeera, “This personnel move sends a signal to the United States that there will be no concessions in negotiations with the U.S.,” adding, “It reflects the hardliners’ view that continued resistance to the United States is strategically necessary.”
Reporter Kim Kyu-hwan ([email protected] )
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