Who is Amir Hatami, the man to lead Iran's army after Israeli strikes kill top generals?
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on Friday announced a reshuffle in the country's military hierarchy, appointing Major General Amir Hatami as the new chief commander of Iran's Army.
This change comes in the aftermath of Israeli airstrikes that killed key military leaders, including General Mohammad Hossein Bagheri and General Hossein Salami, reports News18.
General Abdolrahim Mousavi was appointed as the chief of the Armed Forces, replacing Bagheri, while Mohammad Pakpour took over as head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), succeeding Salami.
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Major General Amir Hatami, 59, previously served as Iran's Defence Minister from 2013 to 2021, under President Hassan Rouhani.
Before his ministerial role, Hatami held several key command positions within the Iranian Army.
He is a graduate of the elite Imam Ali Officers' Academy, AJA University of Command and Staff, and Iran's National Defense University—institutions that train the country's top military strategists.
A veteran of the Iran-Iraq war, referred to in Iran as the "Sacred Defence", Hatami's appointment signals a potential shift back toward the country's traditional armed forces, known as the Artesh, amid the long-standing dominance of the IRGC in military affairs.
Hatami's promotion comes as Iran grapples with the fallout from Israeli airstrikes on Tehran that killed top commanders of both the regular army and the IRGC.
