Mohammad-Reza Gharaei Ashtiani () is an Iranian

military officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer (NCO), or a warrant officer. However, absent c ...

who has served as the deputy

chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

of the

Iranian Armed Forces The Iranian Armed Forces, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran Armed Forces, are the combined military forces of Iran, comprising the Islamic Republic of Iran Army (''Artesh''), the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (''Sepah'') and the Polic ...

since 28 August 2024. Gharaei Ashtiani served as the former

minister of defence A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

in Iran. Ashtiani was sworn in on 25 August 2021, replacing Brigadier General

Amir Hatami Amir Hatami (born 1966) is an Iranian military officer who is currently serving as the commander-in-chief of the Iranian Army. Having the rank of major general, Hatami was made commander-in-chief following the permuting of Abdolrahim Mousavi to ...

who had held the role since 2017. Due to his connections to the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) of Russia and Iranian defense industry, Ashtiani was sanctioned by the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Department of Treasury.

Military career

Ashtiani was promoted to the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of Islamic Republic of Iran (Artesh) on 2 July 2019, following a decree by Supreme Leader

Ali Khamenei Ali Hosseini Khamenei (; born 19 April 1939) is an Iranian cleric and politician who has served as the second supreme leader of Iran since 1989. He previously served as the third President of Iran, president from 1981 to 1989. Khamenei's tenure ...

. Ashtiani replaced Major General

Ataollah Salehi Ataollah Salehi (; born 9 March 1950) is the former and third commander-in-chief of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army, serving from 2005 until 2017. He graduated before the Islamic Revolution from the Iranian Army's military academy in 1971 with ...

. He was selected to be the Minister of Defense by President Ebrahim Raisi and then was approved for the position and took office on 25 August 2021.

Defense Minister

Ashtiani’s selection for the position was favored by outgoing minister

who called Ashtiani the “best candidate” for position. Ashtiani said that he would prioritize exporting various defense products to other countries around the world.

International Sanctions

On May 31, 2024, Ashtiani was placed on an EU sanctions list by the EU Council. He is accused of facilitating and providing material support to Russia's war against Ukraine by supplying Iranian weaponry, namely unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), to Russia's Armed Forces.

References

Living people 1960 births Islamic Republic of Iran Army brigadier generals Islamic Republic of Iran Army personnel of the Iran–Iraq War Iranian individuals subject to U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctions Defence ministers of Iran {{Iran-mil-bio-stub