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Western Iran Clashes (2016–present)
The ongoing clashes in Western Iran refers to the ongoing military clashes between Kurdish insurgent party Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, which began in April 2016. Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK) and Komalah expressed their support to the Kurdish cause of PDKI as well, with both clashing with Iranian security forces in 2016 and 2017 respectively. In parallel, a leftist Iranian Kurdish rebel group PJAK resumed military activities against Iran in 2016, following a long period of stalemate. The 2016 clashes came following a background of what PDKI described as "growing discontent in Rojhelat". The commander of the PAK military wing described their engagement and declaration of hostilities against the Iranian government were due to the fact that "the situation in eastern Kurdistan (Iranian Kurdistan) has become unbearable, especially with the daily arbitrary executions against the Kurds n Iran. Background Iran has a significant ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kurdish Separatism In Iran
Kurdish separatism in Iran or the Kurdish–Iranian conflict is an ongoing separatist dispute between the Kurdish opposition in Western Iran and the governments of Iran since the emergence of Reza Shah in 1918. The earliest Kurdish separatist activities in modern times refer to tribal revolts in today's West Azerbaijan Province of the Imperial State of Iran, which began between the two World Wars – the largest of these were led by Simko Shikak, Jafar Sultan and Hama Rashid revolts. Many however, put the starting point of the organized Kurdish political-nationalist separatism at 1943, when Komala (shortly after the Kurdish Democratic Party of Iran) began their political activities in Iran with the aim to gain partial or complete autonomy in the Kurdish regions. Transformation from tribal to Kurdish political struggle in Iran took place in the aftermath of World War II, with the KDPI establishing the Republic of Mahabad during the 1946 Iran crisis. The USSR-supported ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Islamic Republic Of Iran Border Guard Command
The Border Guard Command ( , romanized: ''Fərmândēhi-ē Mərzbâni Jomhūri-ē Ēslâmi-ē Irân''), commonly known as FARAJA Border Guard (), is a subdivision of the Law Enforcement Force (FARAJA) and Iran's sole agency that performs border guard and border control duties for land borders, and coast guard duties for maritime borders. The unit was founded in 2000. Between 1991 and 2000, border control was the responsibility of the Security deputy of FARAJA. Prior to 1991, border control was the responsibility of the Gendarmerie. History In 2023 FARAJA borderguard command decided to deploy manpower, electronic optical systems, and cameras throughout the east border to enhance defenses. FARAJA controls 97% of the borders through 16 provinces, three percent of the borders belong to other Islamic Republic military services (IRGC). Amongst other barriers, the command has built a pipe barrier on the Iraqi border. Along the border with Pakistan and Turkey the barrier includes wal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mohammad Ali Jafari
Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari (, born 1 September 1957, also known as Aziz Jafari and Ali Jafari) is a retired Iranian military officer and former commander-in-chief of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) from 2007 to 2019. He was appointed by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on 1 September 2007, succeeding Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi. According to a 2 September 2007 report by Radio Free Europe, Radio Farda, Jafari was close to the conservative subfaction, which included Mohsen Rezaee, the secretary of the Expediency Discernment Council and former commander of the IRGC and Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, a former IRGC member and the mayor of Tehran. 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, to whom Safavi was close. Jafari was seen as a tactician, organizer, and 'technical' military man, according to Radio Free Europe. The EU's official journ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yahya Rahim Safavi
Yahya "Rahim" Safavi (, born 1952) is an Iranian military commander who served as the chief commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Currently , Safavi is serving as a senior military advisor to the leader of the Islamic revolution. Additionally, he has assumed the role of head of Defense and Security Commission within the council. Early life Safavi was born in 1952 in the city of Isfahan, Iran, to an Azerbaijani family. Career Safavi was one of the leaders of the Iran–Iraq War. During the US-led invasion of Afghanistan, he played a key role in the uprising in Herat in November 2001, where American, Iranian and Northern Alliance troops supported a local uprising against the Taliban. He served as the deputy commander of Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps until 1997 when he was appointed its commander, replacing Mohsen Rezaee in 1997. He was replaced as commander of the IRGC by Mohammad Ali Jafari, former director of the Strategic Studies Center of the IRGC on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ahmad-Reza Radan
Ahmad-Reza Radan () is an Iranian military officer who has served as Iran's Chief of police, the chief commander of the Law Enforcement Command of the Islamic Republic of Iran since January 2023. He was deputy commander of the Police Command of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Tehran's police chief, infamous for his crackdown on " un-Islamic" hair and dress styles. Career Radan started his career as a member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards during the Iran–Iraq War. Radan held various posts in the Islamic Republic of Iran Police (IRIP), including police commander of Razavi Khorasan Province. Radan is widely recognized for his strict enforcement of the Islamic dress code, efforts to combat drug trafficking, and crackdown on gang activity. He previously held top police posts in several key regions, including Kurdistan Province, Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Khorasan Province, and Tehran Province ,the latter being Iran’s most strategically significant province. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mohammad Pakpour
Mohammad Pakpour (; born 1961) is an Iranian Major-General and Commander of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Ground Forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Ground Forces since 2009. On 13 June 2025 he was appointed head of the IRGC following the death of his predecessor in the June 2025 Israeli strikes on Iran. History Pakpour was involved with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) at the beginning of the Islamic Revolution in the Kurdistan Province and was a veteran of the 8-year-long Iran–Iraq War. His responsibilities include five years of Army Operations Command, commander of the 8th Najaf Division, commander of 31st Ashura Division of Command chief Army's Northern Command headquarters. Pakpur has a PhD in Political Geography and has had responsibility for measures such as fighting terrorism in northwest Iran and establishing security in the southeast region of Iran, as well as the holding of specialized exercises. During a maneuver i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hossein Salami
Hossein Salami (; 1960 – 13 June 2025) was an Iranian military officer who served as the Commander-in-Chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) from 2019 until 2025 when he was killed by an Israeli airstrike during the Iran–Israel War. Salami joined the IRGC during the Iran–Iraq War in 1980, when he was a college student. He rose through the ranks, becoming deputy commander. On 21 April 2019, the supreme leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, appointed him as the new Commander-in-Chief of the IRGC, replacing major general Mohammad Ali Jafari. Salami stood out among the commanders of the IRGC for his fiery and aggressive speeches targeting the US, Israel, and Saudi Arabia. Early life and education Hossein Salami was born in 1960 in Golpayegan, Isfahan province, then part of the Imperial State of Iran. In 1978, he was accepted to the mechanical engineering department at the Iran University of Science and Technology. When the Iran–Iraq War started, he joined the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aziz Nasirzadeh
Aziz Nasirzadeh (; born 1965) is an Iranian military officer and the Iranian Minister of Defense since August 2024. He was Deputy of Chief of Staff for the Iranian Armed Forces from September 2021 to 2024, and the commander of the Iranian Air Force (IRIAF) from August 2018 to September 2021. A veteran of the Iran-Iraq War, he graduated as a certified F-14 pilot, but never saw any combat. Following June 2025 Israeli strikes on Iran, several opposition and foreign media outlets claimed that Nasirzadeh had been assassinated in the attacks targeting the Iranian Ministry of Defence headquarters in Tehran. However, pro-government journalist Dara Nassari said that "Amir Nasirzadeh is in full health and continues to serve the honorable people of Iran." Military career Nasirzadeh began his military career as an F-14 Tomcat fighter pilot at the end of the Iran-Iraq War, though he never saw any combat. Over the years, he served in key positions in the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Forc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kioumars Heydari
Kioumars Heydari () is an Iranian general. , he was Commander of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army Ground Forces. Biography Heydari was appointed as the Commander of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army Ground Forces in November 2016. In 2022, Heydari was added to the sanctions list of the OFAC and the European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ..., alongside other senior figures in the Iranian army. In 2023, he was also placed on the UK sanctions list. The sanctions against him and other senior figures stemmed mainly from violations of human rights and the repression of Iranian citizens in anti-regime protests of 2018-2019. On June 13, 2025, Israel allegedly tried to eliminate Heydari. As of June 22, no official Iranian statement was made about Heydari's co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abdolrahim Mousavi
''Seyyed'' Abdolrahim Mousavi (}; born 1960) is an Iranian military officer. As of June 2025, he is the Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran, following the killing of his predecessor. He formerly served as the Chief of the General Staff and commander-in-chief of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army from August 2017 to June 2025. Career Mousavi's military career began in 1979. He was second-in-command of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army from 2008 to 2016, including during the Iran–Iraq War, and was deputy chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran from 2016 to 2017. He then served as the Chief of the General Staff and commander-in-chief of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army from August 2017 to June 2025. In January 2018 he referred to the United States as the "Great Satan". In September 2019, he said that the United States is "like an animal that would chase after you if you run away, and would run away if y ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Masoud Pezeshkian
Masoud Pezeshkian (, ; born 29 September 1954) is an Iranian politician and physician who has been serving as the ninth president of Iran since 28 July 2024. Pezeshkian served as governor of Piranshahr and Naghadeh counties and was elected to the Iranian parliament five times, representing Tabriz, Osku and Azarshahr (electoral district), Tabriz, Osku and Azarshahr electoral district. He was Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Minister of Health and Medical Education between 2001 and 2005 in the Government of Mohammad Khatami. He ran in the 2013 Iranian presidential election, 2013 presidential election, but withdrew. He was rejected from running in the 2021 Iranian presidential election. He won the 2024 Iranian presidential election, 2024 presidential election on 5 July in a runoff with 54.76% of the popular vote. He became the President of Iran on 28 July 2024. He is the oldest person to serve in this position, taking office at the age of 69. Early life and education ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ebrahim Raisi
Ebrahim Raisolsadati (14 December 1960 – 19 May 2024), better known as Ebrahim Raisi, was an Iranian politician who served as the eighth president of Iran from 2021 until 2024 Varzaqan helicopter crash, his death in a helicopter crash in 2024. He was a Twelver Shi'ism, Twelver Shia Faqīh, Muslim jurist and part of the Iranian principlists, Principlist group. Raisi was the son-in-law of Mashhad Imam of Friday Prayer, Friday prayer leader and Grand Imam of Imam Reza shrine, Ahmad Alamolhoda. He began his clerical studies at age 15. In the aftermath of the 1979 Iranian Revolution, Raisi served in several positions in Judicial system of Iran, Iran's judicial system, including as Prosecutor of Karaj, Prosecutor of Hamadan and Deputy Prosecutor and Prosecutor of Tehran. Raisi was part of the Tehran branch of what has been called the "1988 executions of Iranian political prisoners, 1988 Iran death commission". Under the direction of Ruhollah Khomeini, Grand Ayatollah Khomeini, Ira ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
