Mohammad Ali Jafari

Who is Mohammad Ali Jafari?

Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari is the commander of the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution of Iran. He was appointed by the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, on September 1, 2007, to succeed Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi.

According to a September 2, 2007, report on Radio Farda, Jafari has been close to the conservative subfaction which includes Mohsen Rezaee and Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf. His replacement of Yahya Rahim Safavi the former IRGC commander, was thought to be a move by Khamenei to strengthen the conservative faction as a counterweight to the radicalizers around President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

"Observers appear to regard Jafari as principally a tactician, organizer, and 'technical' military man," according to Radio Free Europe. The EU's official journal said the three Iranian Revolutionary Guard members now subject to sanctions had been "providing equipment and support to help the Syrian regime suppress protests in Syria". He was added along with Maj Gen Qasem Soleimani and the Guard's deputy commander for intelligence, Hossein Taeb.