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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ali Khamanei appointed a new Deputy Commander to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Thursday and a Deputy Commander for Coordination amid rising US-Iran tensions in the region a year after Washington pulled out of the nuclear deal.
Tasnim News Agency, a media outlet close to the IRGC, reported on Thursday that Ali Khamanei appointed Brigadier General Ali Fadavi as the deputy commander of IRGC, promoting him to the rank of lieutenant commander through a decree.
Khamanei announced a second decree, appointing Commander of the Basij paramilitaries, Brigadier General Mohammed Reza Naqdi, as the Deputy Commander for Coordination.
The two decrees praised the "experience" of the two men, adding that the readiness and operational capability of the IRGC should increase to preserve the Islamic Revolution.
An Iraqi national with Iranian origins, Naqdi was kicked out of Iraq a year after Iran’s Islamic Revolution, alongside thousands of Feyli Kurds. Naqdi was dubbed the “Tyrant of the Campus” by Iran’s reformists for his role in suppressing protesters in 2010.
Naqdi is known for his hard-line stances against Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the United States.
"The Islamic Revolution in Iran will not back down even an inch from its position regarding the wiping out of Israel," he said in an interview in December on Al-Nujaba TV. "I believe that Saudi Arabia is much weaker than you might think...”
"America will not launch a war against Iran. If it does – a possibility that I rule out – we will destroy all its military bases in the region," he added.
Last month, Khamanei designated General Hussein Salami as the IRGC’s Commander in Chief, replacing Mohammed Ali Jafair. The reappointment came just days after the US had designated the forces as an international terrorist organization.
Tehran reciprocated Washington’s announcement and designated the US Central Command (CENTCOM) as a terrorist organization.
On May 5, the US deployed aircraft carrier, warships, and a bomber task force to the Middle East, claiming it had evidence of potential Iranian moves against US interests and its allies.
Not long after the deployments, four ships, including two Saudi oil tankers, were attacked off the coast of Fujairah, in the UAE. The following day, Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, claimed responsibility for multiple drone attacks on Saudi oil pumping stations.
On Wednesday, the US ordered all its non-essential government employees to leave Iraq, affecting staff at both its embassy in Baghdad and consulate in Erbil. Other governments have also expressed alarm. The Netherlands and Germany announced the suspension of their training programs for Peshmerga and Iraqi forces and the UK raised the threat level for its military personnel based in Iraq.
Despite the aggressive posturing, both sides say they do not want a war.
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