Ahmad Kazemi

Ahmad Kazemi (Persian: احمد کاظمی‎) (22 July 1958 – 9 January 2006) was an Iranian commander in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and one of the most notable commanders in Iran–Iraq War.

Sardar Ahmad Kazemi
Born	(1958-07-22)22 July 1958 Najafabad, Isfahan, Iran
Died	9 January 2006(2006-01-09) (aged 47) Urmia, West Azarbaijan, Iran
Allegiance	Iran
Service/branch	Revolutionary Guards
Years of service	1981–2006
Rank	Brigadier general
Commands held	8th Najaf Ashraf Armoured Division 14th Imam Hossein Division Air Force[1] Ground Force[2]
Battles/wars	Southern Lebanon conflicts 1979 Kurdish rebellion Iran–Iraq War (WIA)
Awards	3rd grade Order of Fath (3)[3]

Early life

He was born on 22 July 1958 in Najaf Abad, Isfahan. His father, Eshghali (عشقعلی),[4] was a commander of Imperial Army of Iran but withdrew in 1974 before the beginning of the Iranian Revolution. They moved to Lebanon in 1975. Ahmad with his father joined the fighters in Southern Lebanon. With the emergence of the Iranian revolution, he struggled against monarchy. After the victory of the Revolution and establishment of IRGC (Sepah) in 1980, he joined the Sepah and went to Kurdistan in 1981 to suppress the domestic enemies of the revolution.

Military career

As Iran–Iraq War began, he joined the war with a 50-member group in Abadan fronts and began fighting with Iraq. At the end of the war, the 50-member group became a powerful and important division of Sepah. Direct presence at the front line lead to injuries of his leg, hands and back. One of his fingers was cut. After the end of the war, he attended the university and got a BA degree in Geography and a master's degree in management and defense spending. He made his doctoral studies in the field of national defense. He was appointed as Commander of Ground Forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on 1 June 2005 by the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. He was one of the military advisors to Presidents Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

He was a close friend of Mehdi Bakeri and Hossein Kharrazi.[5]

IRGC Air Force Commander

Ahmad Kazemi was appointed as the commander of 14th Imam Hossein Division on 18 December 1997, and was subsequently appointed to the Air Forces of the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution (IRGC AF) Commander on 29 June 2000.

During his tenure in the IRGC Air Force, Kazemi took effective measures to improve the quality of the air force in terms of organization and structure, and for the first time equipped the IRGC AF with close air support Sukhoi Su-25 aircraft, and equipped the IRGC AF helicopter organization with purchased Mil Mi-17 helicopters. He was also in contact with the IRGC's missile unit and assisted Hassan Tehrani Moghaddam in developing ballistic missile projects.

When the Bam earthquake happened in year 2003, Kazemi mobilized the IRGC AF fleet to rescue the Bam earthquake victims by preparing the Bam Airport. Such a way that, a plane and a helicopter flew in every 13 minutes and a total of 30 thousand wounded were moved by the IRGC AF fleet.[6]

Personal life

He was married in 1978. He had two sons, Mohammad Mehdi (born 1980) and Saeed (born 1989). His eldest son, Mohammad Mehdi is now a civil engineer.

Death

He was killed in a falcon plane crash near Urmia. According to the Aviation Safety Network,[7] the plane "crash-landed in a field in poor weather conditions... Reports indicate that the crew did not get three greens after selecting the gear down while on approach to Orumiyeh Airport. A flypast was done so the control tower could observe the status of the landing gear. While circling the airplane suffered a double engine flame-out, reportedly as a result of engine icing. An emergency landing was attempted in a field, but the Falcon crashed". Reports that the plane crashed due to sabotage or a bomb are still unproven. His funeral was held in Tehran and Iranian Leader Ali Khamenei attended as well.[8]

In a letter, Iran's Leader Ali Khamenei wrote that,[9]

Two weeks ago Martyr Kazemi came to see me. He told me, "I would like to ask you to do me two favors. First, pray to Almighty Allah that I will end up as an honorable person. Second, pray that I will attain martyrdom."

I told him, "It will really be a pity if you and others like you die an ordinary death. You and others who have passed through all those crucial stages should not die. You should all end up as martyrs. However, it is not yet time for this, since our country and our Islamic system still need you."

I further said, "The day when I was informed about the martyrdom of General Sayyad-Shirazi, I said that he was worthy of martyrdom, that he deserved to be martyred. It would have been a pity if he had died an ordinary death."

When I said this, the eyes of Martyr Kazemi became filled with tears, and he told me, "God willing, you will receive the news of my martyrdom too!"

See also

• Mehdi Zeinoddin
• Ali Hashemi (Commander)
• Mohammad Ebrahim Hemmat

References

1. Appointment of Brigadier General Ahmad Kazemi to the IRGC Air Force Command khamenei.ir
2. Appointment of Brigadier General Ahmad Kazemi to the IRGC Land Forces Command khamenei.ir
3. Poursafa, Mahdi (January 20, 2014). گزارش فارس از تاریخچه نشان‌های نظامی ایران، از «اقدس» تا «فتح»؛ مدال‌هایی که بر سینه سرداران ایرانی نشسته است [From "Aghdas" to "Fath": Medals resting on the chest of Iranian Serdars] (in Persian). Fars News. Retrieved October 21, 2014.
4. Shahid Kazemi Archived 2016-03-05 at the Wayback Machine khayyen.ir
5. A narration of Martyr Haj Ahmad Kazemi shahidkazemi.ir
6. "جزئیات حمله سپاه پاسداران به مقر حزب دمکرات در کویسنجق _ آکام نیوز" (in Persian). Retrieved 30 October 2019.
7. Aviation Safety Network: Accident description ASN Aircraft accident Dassault Falcon 20E 15-2233 Orumiyeh aviation-safety.net
8. Leader Attends Funeral of Major General Kazemi and his Colleagues khamenei.ir
9. http://www.leader.ir/langs/en/?p=contentShow&id=3493

• In the mourning of Haj Ahmad Kazemi aftabir.com

External links

• Official Website (Persian)

Military offices
Preceded by Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf	Commander of the Revolutionary Guards Air Force 28 June 2000 – 25 August 2005	Succeeded by Mohammad Reza Zahedi
Preceded by Mohammad Ali Jafari	Commander of the Revolutionary Guards Ground Forces 20 August 2005 – 9 January 2006	Succeeded by Mohammad Reza Zahedi