Hassan Firouzabadi

Sayyid Hassan Aghaee Firouzabadi (Persian: حسن فيروزآبادی‎) is an Iranian ophthalmologist and retired military officer who is currently a member of the Expediency Discernment Council,[4] and a senior military advisor to the Supreme Leader of Iran.[5]

Sardar Hassan Firouzabadi
Birth name	Seyyed Hassan Aghaei Firouzabadi[1]
Born	(1951-02-03) 3 February 1951[1] Mashhad, Iran[1]
Allegiance	Iran
Service/branch	Basij
Years of service	1989–2016
Rank	Major General
Commands held	Chief-of-Staff of Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Battles/wars	Iranian intervention in Syria Iranian intervention in Iraq
Awards	Order of Nasr (1st class)[2] Order of Independence[3]

He served as the Chief-of-Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces –the most senior military authority in Iran– from 1989 to 2016.[6]

Military career

Firouzabadi had no military experience before he was appointed as the chief-of-staff, neither in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) nor the Islamic Republic of Iran Army (Artesh), and goes by the title Basiji.[7] On 17 April 1995, the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei granted him the rank of major general, the highest military rank practically available in Iran.[8] According to a report published by The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, he was credited with "husbanding the IRGC from a war-ravaged organization to a hybrid conventional-asymmetric military force overshadowing the still-lagging Artesh. He also oversaw a growing military industry that produced a wide range of products amid international sanctions, from ammunition to space rockets".[6]

Controversy

Following the death of Kavous Seyed-Emami in custody in 2018, Firouzabadi claimed that “Several years ago, some individuals came to Iran... In their possessions were a variety of reptile desert species like lizards, chameleons... We found out that their skin attracts atomic waves and that they were nuclear spies who wanted to find out where inside the Islamic Republic of Iran we have uranium mines and where we are engaged in atomic activities”. Several scientists dismissed his remarks as absurd.[9][10]

See also

• List of Iranian two-star generals since 1979

References

1. Treasury Sanctions Two Senior Iranian Officials for Serious Human Rights Abuses, U.S. Department of Treasury, 13 December 2011, retrieved 15 October 2017
2. 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]. Fars News (in Persian). Retrieved October 21, 2014.
3. تصویب نامه درخصوص اعطای نشان عالی «استقلال» به آقای سیدحسن فیروزآبادی [The letter about endowing the Excellent Order of Independence to Mr. Hassan Firouzabadi]. Iranian Parliament (in Persian). 12 November 2008. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
4. "New Expediency Council head, members appointed", Mehr News Agency, 14 August 2017, 4058702, retrieved 15 October 2017
5. "Leader's Top Military Aide: Foreign Inspection of Iran's Military Site Not Included in N. Deal", Fars News Agency, 14 August 2017, 4058702, retrieved 15 October 2017
6. "Who Is Iran's New Armed Forces Chief of Staff?", The Washington Institute, 5 July 2016, retrieved 1 March 2017
7. Saeid Golkar (June 2013), "The Islamic Republic's Art of Survival: Neutralizing Domestic and Foreign Threats" (PDF), The Washington Institute for Near East Policy (Policy Focus), p. 10
8. "The Ceremont to Grant the Rank of Major General to Dr. Seyyed Hassan Firouzabadi", leader.ir (in Persian), 17 April 1995, retrieved 5 October 2017
9. Maza, Cristina (13 February 2018). "Iran Says Enemies Used Lizards to Spy on Nuclear Program". Newsweek.
10. Ghose, Tia (13 February 2018). "No, Iran, Lizard 'Spies' Can't Detect Uranium". Live Science.

External links

Military offices
New title	Deputy Head of Commander-in-Chief's Headquarters 1988 – 26 September 1989	Succeeded by Mohammad Forouzandeh as Deputy Chief of the General Staff of Iranian Armed Forces
Preceded by Mir-Hossein Mousavi as Head of Commander-in-Chief Headquarters	Chief-of-Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces 26 September 1989 – 28 June 2016	Succeeded by Mohammad Bagheri
Non-profit organization positions
Preceded by Ali Behzadnia	President of the Iranian Red Crescent Society 1981–1983	Succeeded by Seifollah Vahid Dastjerdi