List of commanders of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army

Iranian Army

Personnel List of Iranian field marshals Military ranks of Iran Equipment Current equipment History Military history of Iran Historical structures Historical equipment see also: IRGC Ground Forces This box: view talk edit

The following individuals have been identified as chiefs of staffs of the:

• Imperial Iranian Armed Forces (until 1979)
• Islamic Republic of Iran Army (after 1979), which is a branch of the Iranian Armed Forces.

In 1998 the title became Commander-in-Chief.

Chiefs of the Joint Staff

No.	Portrait	Chief of the Joint Staff	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Defence branch	Ref.
Imperial Iranian Armed Forces
1		Jahanbani, AmanullahLieutenant general Amanullah Jahanbani (1895–1974)	1925	1926	0–1 years	Ground Force	–
2		Sheibani, HabibollahMajor general Habibollah Sheibani [fa]	1926	1927	0–1 years	Ground Force	–
3		Nakhjavan, MohammadLieutenant general Mohammad Nakhjavan [fa] (?–1975)	1927	1934	6–7 years	Ground Force	–
4		Zarghami, AzizollahMajor general Azizollah Zarghami (1884–1978)	1934	1941	6–7 years	Ground Force	–
5		Yazdanpanah, MortezaLieutenant general Morteza Yazdanpanah (1888–1970)	1941	1942	0–1 years	Ground Force	–
6		Arfa, HasanMajor general Hasan Arfa (1895–1984)	1942	1943	0–1 years	Ground Force	–
7		Razmara, HajMajor general Haj Ali Razmara (1901–1951)	1943	1943	0 years	Ground Force	–
8		Riazi, AliAli Riazi [fa]	1943	1944	0–1 years	Ground Force	–
(7)		Razmara, HajMajor general Haj Ali Razmara (1901–1951)	1944	1944	0 years	Ground Force	–
(6)		Arfa, HasanMajor general Hasan Arfa (1895–1984)	1944	1946	1–2 years	Ground Force	–
9		Aghevli, FarajollahFarajollah Aghevli [fa] (1887–1974)	1946	1946	0 years	Ground Force	–
(7)		Razmara, HajMajor general Haj Ali Razmara (1901–1951)	1946	1950	3–4 years	Ground Force	–
10		Garzan, AbbasAbbas Garzan [fa]	1950	1952	1–2 years	Ground Force	–
(5)		Yazdanpanah, MortezaLieutenant general Morteza Yazdanpanah (1888–1970)	1952	1952	0 years	Ground Force	–
11		Baharmast, MahmoudMajor general Mahmoud Baharmast (1899–1977)	1952	1953	0–1 years	Ground Force	–
12		Riahi, TaghiBrigadier general Taghi Riahi (1911–1989)	1953	1953	0 years	Ground Force	–
13		Batmanghelidj, NaderLieutenant general Nader Batmanghelidj (1904–1998)	1953	1955	1–2 years	Ground Force	–
14		Hedayat, AbdollahGeneral Abdollah Hedayat (1899–1968)	1955	1961	5–6 years	Ground Force	–
15		Hejazi, AbdolhosseinGeneral Abdol Hossein Hejazi (1904–1969)	1961	1965	3–4 years	Ground Force	–
16		Aryana, BahramGeneral Bahram Aryana (1906–1985)	1965	1969	3–4 years	Ground Force	–
17		Djam, FereydounGeneral Fereydoun Djam (1914–2008)	1969	1971	1–2 years	Ground Force	–
19		Azhari, Gholam RezaGeneral Gholam Reza Azhari (1912–2001)	1971	1978	6–7 years	Ground Force	–
20		Gharabaghi, AbbasGeneral Abbas Gharabaghi (1918–2000)	1978	1979	0–1 years	Ground Force	–
Islamic Republic of Iran Army
1		Gharani, Mohammad-ValiLieutenant general Mohammad-Vali Gharani (1913–1979)	12 February 1979	27 March 1979	43 days	Ground Forces	[1]
2		Farbod, NasserMajor general Nasser Farbod (1922–2019)	27 March 1979	12 July 1979	107 days	Ground Forces	[1]
3		Shaker, Mohammad-HosseinMajor general Mohammad-Hossein Shaker	12 July 1979	September 1979	1 month	Ground Forces	[1]
4		Shadmehr, Mohammad-HadiMajor general Mohammad-Hadi Shadmehr (1920–2008)	February 1980	17 June 1980	4 months	Ground Forces	[1]
5		Fallahi, ValiollahBrigadier general Valiollah Fallahi (1931–1981)	17 June 1980	29 September 1981 †	1 year, 104 days	Ground Forces	[1]
6		Zahirnejad, Qasem-AliBrigadier general Qasem-Ali Zahirnejad (1924–1999)	9 October 1981	25 October 1984	3 years, 16 days	Ground Forces	[1]
7		Sohrabi, EsmaeilBrigadier general Esmaeil Sohrabi (born 1937)	25 October 1984	7 May 1988	3 years, 195 days	Ground Forces	[1]
8		Shahbazi, AliMajor general Ali Shahbazi (born 1937)	7 May 1988	8 October 1998	10 years, 154 days	Ground Forces	[1]

Commanders-in-chief

No.	Portrait	Commander-in-Chief	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Defence branch	Ref.
1		Shahbazi, AliMajor general Ali Shahbazi (born 1937)	8 October 1998	1 June 2000	1 year, 237 days	Ground Forces	[2]
2		Salimi, MohammadMajor general Mohammad Salimi (1937–2016)	1 June 2000	15 September 2005	5 years, 106 days	Ground Forces	[3][4]
3		Salehi, AtaollahMajor general Ataollah Salehi (born 1950)	15 September 2005	21 April 2017	11 years, 340 days	Ground Forces	[5][6]
4		Mousavi, AbdolrahimMajor general Abdolrahim Mousavi (born 1960)	21 April 2017	13 June 2025	7 years, 296 days	Ground Forces	[7]
5		Hatami, AmirMajor general Amir Hatami (born 1966)	14 June 2025	Incumbent	221 days	Ground Forces	[8][9]

Timeline

Commanders of military branches

Ground Forces

Air Force

Air Defense Force

Navy

See also

• List of commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps

References

1. Nikola B. Schahgaldian, Gina Barkhordarian (March 1987), The Iranian Military Under the Islamic Republic (PDF), RAND, ISBN 0-8330-0777-7, retrieved 15 January 2017
2. "انتصاب تیمسار سرلشکر علی شهبازی به فرماندهی ارتش". khamenei.ir (in Persian).
3. "Iranian Leader Appoints New Army Commanders". People's Daily. 23 June 2000. Retrieved 17 February 2013.
4. "انتصاب امیر سرتیپ‌ محمد سلیمی به سمت‌ فرماندهی کل‌ ارتش‌". khamenei.ir (in Persian).
5. "Iran's regular army gets new chief as reshuffle goes on". Iran Focus. 11 September 2005. Retrieved 17 February 2013.
6. "انتصاب امیر سرلشکر عطاءالله صالحی به فرماندهی کل ارتش جمهوری اسلامی ایران". khamenei.ir (in Persian).
7. "Leader appoints new top military brass". Islamic Republic News Agency. 13 June 2025. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
8. "General Hatami appointed new Army Chief". Islamic Republic News Agency. 14 June 2025. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
9. "انتصاب فرمانده کل ارتش و جانشین رئیس ستاد کل نیروهای مسلح". khamenei.ir (in Persian).

External links