Who is Gen. Abdolrahim Mousavi? Iran names new Army chief after Israeli strikes kill commander: ‘Declaration of war…’

Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, replaced two top military commanders killed in a wave of Israeli strikes on Friday. Khamenei tapped General Abdolrahim Mousavi as the new head of the armed forces, replacing Gen. Mohammad Bagheri.

Khamenei chose Mohammad Pakpour to lead the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, replacing Gen. Hossein Salami, an AP report said.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard, created after its 1979 Islamic Revolution, is one of the main power centres within the country's theocracy.

Who is Gen. Abdolrahim Mousavi?

Previously the Commander-in-Chief of Iran's Army, Mousavi has been sanctioned by the US, the European Union, the United Kingdom, as well as Australia, according to a profile published by ‘United Against Nuclear Iran’.

The US sanctioned Mousavi in 2023 under the leadership of Barack Obama for ‘serious human rights abuses’. The Executive Order reads, “All property and interests in property that are in the United States, that hereafter come within the United States, or that are or hereafter come within the possession or control of any United States person, including any overseas branch, of the following persons are blocked and may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in…”

He was sanctioned by the EU on the same grounds – “persons responsible for serious human rights violations in Iran, and persons associated with them.”

The report also said that Mousavi bears responsibility for the Iranian Army's involvement in the regime's violent response to the 2022 protests. “On several occasions, Mousavi described the protests in Iran as riots organised and planned by the enemies of Iran, thereby framing the protests as a national security threat,” the report said.

“He used threatening language directed at participants in the protest movement. He also praised the Iranian security forces’ violent response to protesters, describing it as an effective way to neutralise Iran’s enemies. He is therefore responsible for serious human rights violations in Iran,” the report added.

Mousavi had served as the chief of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army (IRIA) since August 2017. The report also said that units under Mousavi's control were involved in the suppression of demonstrations during both the November 2019 economic protests and protests following the death of Mahsa Amini in September 2022. “Troops under Mousavi’s command used machine guns to fire indiscriminately into crowds of protestors,” the report said.

Iran says Israel attack 'declaration of war'

Iran called Israel's wave of strikes on Friday a “declaration of war”, after the Israeli military hit about 100 targets, including nuclear facilities and killed senior figures, among them the armed forces chief and top nuclear scientists.

Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned Israel it faced a “bitter and painful” fate over the attacks, while the Iranian military said there were "no limits" to its response, an AFP report said.

In a letter to the United Nations, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi described Israel's attack as a "declaration of war" and called on the Security Council to immediately address this issue, the ministry said.

The Israeli military said Iran launched around 100 drones, with air defences intercepting them outside Israeli territory, while neighbouring Jordan said it intercepted drones and missiles that violated its airspace.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel struck at the "heart of Iran's nuclear enrichment programme", taking aim at nuclear scientists and the main underground enrichment facility in Natanz, the report added.

(With inputs from agencies)