List of Chiefs of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The following individuals have been identified as chiefs of staffs of the:
- Imperial Iranian Armed Forces (until 1979)
- Islamic Republic of Iran Armed Forces (after 1979), one of the two separate armed forces of Iran.
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In 1998 the title became Commander-in-Chief.
Chiefs of the Joint Staff
| No. | Portrait | Chief of the Joint Staff | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Defence branch | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Imperial Iranian Armed Forces | |||||||
| 1 | Lieutenant general Amanullah Jahanbani (1895–1974) | 22 December 1922 | 12 February 1927 | 4 years, 52 days |  Ground Force | – | |
| 2 | Major general Habibollah Sheibani | 12 February 1927 | 30 November 1927 | 291 days | Ground Force | – | |
| 3 | Lieutenant general Mohammad Nakhjavan (?–1975) | 30 November 1927 | 3 May 1934 | 6 years, 154 days | Ground Force | – | |
| 4 | Major general Azizollah Zarghami (1884–1978) | 3 May 1934 | 23 September 1941 | 7 years, 143 days | Ground Force | – | |
| 5 | Lieutenant general Morteza Yazdanpanah (1888–1970) | 23 September 1941 | 3 March 1943 | 1 year, 161 days | Ground Force | – | |
| 6 | Major general Hasan Arfa (1895–1984) | 3 March 1943 | 23 July 1943 | 142 days | Ground Force | – | |
| 7 | Major general Ali Razmara (1901–1951) | 23 July 1943 | 9 September 1943 | 48 days | Ground Force | – | |
| 8 | Ali Riazi | 9 September 1943 | 5 May 1944 | 239 days | Ground Force | – | |
| (7) | Major general Ali Razmara (1901–1951) | 5 May 1944 | 27 December 1944 | 236 days | Ground Force | – | |
| (6) | Major general Hasan Arfa (1895–1984) | 27 December 1944 | 16 February 1946 | 1 year, 51 days | Ground Force | – | |
| 9 | Farajollah Aghevli (1887–1974) | 16 February 1946 | 1 July 1946 | 135 days | Ground Force | – | |
| (7) | Major general Ali Razmara (1901–1951) | 1 July 1946 | 26 June 1950 | 3 years, 360 days | Ground Force | – | |
| 10 | Abbas Garzan | 26 June 1950 | 24 July 1952 | 2 years, 28 days | Ground Force | – | |
| (5) | Lieutenant general Morteza Yazdanpanah (1888–1970) | 24 July 1952 | 21 August 1952 | 28 days | Ground Force | – | |
| 11 | Major general Mahmoud Baharmast (1899–1977) | 21 August 1952 | 28 February 1953 | 191 days | Ground Force | – | |
| 12 | Brigadier general Taghi Riahi (1911–1989) | 28 February 1953 | 19 August 1953 | 172 days | Ground Force | – | |
| 13 | Lieutenant general Nader Batmanghelidj (1904–1998) | 19 August 1953 | 23 August 1955 | 2 years, 4 days | Ground Force | – | |
| 14 | General Abdollah Hedayat (1899–1968) | 23 August 1955 | 15 March 1961 | 5 years, 204 days | Ground Force | – | |
| 15 | General Abdol Hossein Hejazi (1904–1969) | 15 March 1961 | 21 December 1965 | 4 years, 281 days | Ground Force | – | |
| 16 | General Bahram Aryana (1906–1985) | 21 December 1965 | 4 May 1969 | 3 years, 134 days | Ground Force | – | |
| 17 | General Fereydoun Djam (1914–2008) | 4 May 1969 | 19 July 1971 | 2 years, 76 days | Ground Force | – | |
| 19 | General Gholam Reza Azhari (1912–2001) | 19 July 1971 | 22 December 1978 | 7 years, 156 days | Ground Force | – | |
| 20 | General Abbas Gharabaghi (1918–2000) | 22 December 1978 | 11 February 1979 | 51 days | Ground Force | – | |
| Islamic Republic of Iran Army | |||||||
| 1 | Lieutenant general Mohammad-Vali Gharani (1913–1979) | 12 February 1979 | 27 March 1979 | 43 days |  Ground Forces | [1] | |
| 2 | Major general Nasser Farbod (1922–2019) | 27 March 1979 | 12 July 1979 | 107 days | Ground Forces | [1] | |
| 3 | Major general Mohammad-Hossein Shaker | 12 July 1979 | September 1979 | 1 month | Ground Forces | [1] | |
| 4 | Major general Mohammad-Hadi Shadmehr (1920–2008) | February 1980 | 17 June 1980 | 4 months | Ground Forces | [1] | |
| 5 | Brigadier general Valiollah Fallahi (1931–1981) | 17 June 1980 | 29 September 1981 † | 1 year, 104 days | Ground Forces | [1] | |
| 6 | Brigadier general Qasem-Ali Zahirnejad (1924–1999) | 9 October 1981 | 25 October 1984 | 3 years, 16 days | Ground Forces | [1] | |
| 7 | Brigadier general Esmaeil Sohrabi (born 1937) | 25 October 1984 | 7 May 1988 | 3 years, 195 days | Ground Forces | [1] | |
| 8 | Major general Ali Shahbazi (born 1937) | 7 May 1988 | 8 October 1998 | 10 years, 154 days | Ground Forces | [1] | |
![Habibollah Sheibani [fa]](#/media/File:No_image.png)
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Commanders-in-chief
| No. | Portrait | Commander-in-Chief | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Defence branch | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Major general Ali Shahbazi (born 1937) | 8 October 1998 | 1 June 2000 | 1 year, 237 days | Ground Forces | [2] | |
| 2 | Major general Mohammad Salimi (1937–2016) | 1 June 2000 | 15 September 2005 | 5 years, 106 days | Ground Forces | [3][4] | |
| 3 | Major general Ataollah Salehi (born 1950) | 15 September 2005 | 21 April 2017 | 11 years, 340 days | Ground Forces | [5][6] | |
| 4 | Major general Abdolrahim Mousavi (1960–2026) | 21 April 2017 | 13 June 2025 | 7 years, 296 days | Ground Forces | [7] | |
| 5 | Major general Amir Hatami (born 1966) | 14 June 2025 | Incumbent | 328 days | Ground Forces | [8][9] |
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Timeline
