Career
He was appointed by the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, on September 1, 2007, to succeed Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi. The replacement of Safavi was thought to be a move to strengthen the conservative faction as a counterweight to the radicalizers around President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whom Safavi is close to In 1977 he was admitted to Tehran University, where he studied civil (construction) technology.
As a student he participated in anti-Shah protests in Tehran, and was arrested and sent to jail for this.
He represented his university department in the Islamic Organization of Tehran University. In 1981 he became a part of the Revolutionary Guards where he rose to serve as a commander of operative battlefields of south and west.
He also participated as an assistant in the operation of Sosangard, and served as commander of the Ashura Battalion, as well as of the Garrisons of Qods and Najaf. In 1992 and 1993, he taught at the War University of the Revolutionary Guards.
He was appointed to head "a strategic research center to map out new defensive and military strategies in response to what Iran"s leadership has seen as evolving threats in the Middle East", according to Radio Free Europe Radio Station Liberty.
Prior to his appointment as leader of the guards, he was also the commander of Sarallah Garrison in Tehran. Iranian strategy would also reflect the strengths and weaknesses of United States. forces in Afghanistan and Iraq, he said.
