Hassan Firouzabadi

Sardar Hassan Firuzabadi
Born	February 3, 1951 Mashhad, Iran
Allegiance	Iran
Service/branch	Basij
Years of service	1989–present
Rank	Major General
Commands held	Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces
Battles/wars	Iranian intervention in Syria Iranian intervention in Iraq
Awards	Order of Nasr (1st class)[1] Order of Independence[2]

Major General Hassan Firuzabadi (Persian: سيد حسن فيروزآبادی‎‎, born 3 February 1951 in Mashhad) is an Iranian military officer and the Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, the highest-ranking member of Iranian military after the commander-in-chief, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.^[3]

Early life

He was born on 3 February 1951 in Mashhad, Iran and started his education at that city. He then graduated from Mashhad University of Medical Sciences in veterinary medicine. After Iranian Revolution, he joined Sepah Pasdaran and participated at Iran-Iraq War.

Military career

He is active in Military since 1981 when he was joined the Sepah Pasdaran and was a general in Iran-Iraq War. After the war, he became Deputy Director of Khatam al-Anbia, having appointed by President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. He then became Deputy Chief of Staff of the Military in 1989 and was appointed as Chief of Staff by Ali Khamenei on 2 November 2002.

He is one of the closest to the Supreme Leader of Iran Ali Khamenei and supported Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in recent elections. In May 2012, Firouzabadi gave a speech at a conference in Tehran, in which he stated that "The Iranian nation is standing for its cause that is the full annihilation of Israel." The Fars News Agency also noted that Firouzabadi "reminded the gatherers [sic] that the Iranian Supreme Leader considers defending Palestine as a full religion duty and believes that any kind of governance and rule by anyone other than the Palestinians is an instance of usurpation.”^[4][5]

Firouzabadi's remarks were later cited by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who argued that such statements are further evidence that “Iran wants to eliminate Israel and it is working to attain nuclear weapons in order to achieve that ambition.”^[6][7] He believes that the US has to take the opportunity to improve relation with Iran.^[8]

References

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Interfax (11 August 2011). "Azerbaijan protests against remarks by Iranian General Staff chief". Interfax-Religion. Retrieved 26 August 2011.
4. Top Commander Reiterates Iran's Commitment to Full Annihilation of Israel, Fars News Agency (English), News number: 9102112759, May 20, 2012.
5. Iranian Commander Reiterates Need to Annihilate 'Zionist Regime' by Rachel Hirshfeld, Arutz Sheva, May 21, 2012.
6. PM says Iran’s chief of staff vowed Sunday to eliminate Israel, The Times of Israel, May 21, 2012.
7. PM: Iran must halt uranium enrichment, stockpiling by Herb Keinon, Jerusalem Post, May 21, 2012.
8. http://www.yjc.ir/en/news/2422/obama-must-seize-the-opportunity-military-official

External links