Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has appointed General Ali Fadavi as the deputy to the commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolution Guards corps (IRGC), Tasnim news agency reported on Thursday May 16.
Meanwhile, he has also appointed General Mohammad Reza Naqdi as the Coordinating Deputy to the IRGC commander, the report said.
The appointments do not appear to have real military significance and are part of the reshuffling following the recent change of IRGC's commander in chief in order to fill in vacant positions.
Fadavi was previously the coordinating deputy commander and Naqdi was the deputy commander for cultural affairs. Prior to that he was commander of the Baseej (Basij), IRGC’s paramilitary force. Naqdi played a major role in quashing anti-regime protests.
Khamenei, who is also the commander-in-chief of the Iranian armed forces based on the country's constitution, has mandated the two officers with promoting efficiency and operational readiness of the Guards.
Last month, the United States designated the IRGC as a terrorist group. The measure elicited some angry reactions in Iran, where the Parliament passed a bill designating U.S. forces in the region, including CENTCOM, the U.S. central commands in the Persian Gulf region, as a terrorist group.
