Abdol Ali Badrei (

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

: عبدالعلی بدره‌ای) (29 March 1921 – 11 February 1979) was an

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

ian

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

and the last commander of the

Imperial Iranian Army The Islamic Republic of Iran Army (), acronymed AJA (), commonly simplified as the Iranian Army, is the conventional military of Iran and part of the Islamic Republic of Iran Armed Forces. It is tasked to protect the territorial integrity of th ...

and the

Imperial Guard An imperial guard or palace guard is a special group of troops (or a member thereof) of an empire, typically closely associated directly with the emperor and/or empress. Usually these troops embody a more elite status than other imperial force ...

. He was one of the hardline senior military officers and was assassinated during the course of the regime change in Iran.

Early life and education

Badrei was born in

Kermanshah Kermanshah is a city in the Central District (Kermanshah County), Central District of Kermanshah province, Kermanshah province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. The city is from Tehran in the western pa ...

on 29 March 1921. He graduated from the military academy in Kermanshah and Tehran.

Career

After graduation, Badrei joined the Imperial army as

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in the Mounted Infantry. His first mission was in 1946 to fight against rebels in Azerbaijan and Kurdistan province. Then he joined the imperial guards in 1946. In 1967, he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general and served as second in command in the guards. In 1971, he became a major general and was appointed commander of the immortal guards in 1973. In 1975, he was made

and was appointed commander of the imperial guards in 1976. In February 1979 Badrei publicly stated that the army would not follow the orders of

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Shahpour Bakhtiar Shapour Bakhtiar (, ; 26 June 19146 August 1991) was an Iranian politician who served as the last Prime Minister of Iran under the rule of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. In the words of the historian Abbas Milani: "more than once in the tone of a jeremi ...

. Instead of being reprimanded by the

Shah Shāh (; ) is a royal title meaning "king" in the Persian language.Yarshater, Ehsa, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII, no. 1 (1989) Though chiefly associated with the monarchs of Iran, it was also used to refer to the leaders of numerous Per ...

due to these remarks, he was named commander of the ground forces on 10 January, succeeding Gholam Ali Oveissi, who had resigned from office and left Iran. Badrei formed a group to carry a military coup on 10 February, just before the Iranian revolution. He served in the post of the Imperial Ground Forces commander until his death on 11 February.

Death

Badrei was assassinated on 11 February 1979 on the Sultanabad barracks which was the army headquarters in Tehran. He was leading the troops of the Imperial Ground Forces loyal to the Shah which were fighting against armed civilians who were the supporters of Ayatollah Khomeini when he was murdered. Scheherezade Faramarzi argued in 2019 that the murderer of Badrei was a teenager who was not aware of his identity. Upon his assassination the Imperial army was easily disintegrated by the Islamic government.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Badrei, Abdol Ali 20th-century Iranian people 1921 births 1979 deaths Assassinated Iranian military personnel Imperial Iranian Army lieutenant generals People from Kermanshah People of the Iranian Revolution