Abdolrahim Mousavi

Abdolrahim Mousavi (23 June 1960 – 28 February 2026) was an Iranian military officer who served as Chief of Staff of the Islamic Republic of Iran Armed Forces from June 2025 until his death. He assumed the position following the death of his predecessor, Mohammad Bagheri, during the Twelve-Day War. Previously, he served as commander-in-chief of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army from 2017 to 2025.

Early life Abdolrahim Mousavi was born in 1960 in an underprivileged area of Qom. His father owned a spinning workshop, where Mousavi began working at the age of six. He married at the age of 23 and had two sons.

Mousavi held a professional football refereeing license and had coaching experience. However, despite his deep passion for football and the national team, severe stress prevented him from watching the Iranian national football team's matches.

Career Early years Mousavi's military career began following the Islamic Revolution in 1979. In 2017, he was promoted from Brigadier General to Major General, and from August 2017 to June 2025, he served as the chief of staff of the Ground Forces.

Commander-in-Chief of the Iranian Army In April 2017, Mousavi was promoted from Brigadier General to Major General and made the commander-in-chief of Iran's ground forces. In January 2018, he referred to the United States as the "Great Satan", and stated that his “greatest wish is the annihilation of Israel".

In September 2019, Mousavi said that the United States is "like an animal that would chase after you if you run away, and would run away if you attack them". Following the assassination of Qasem Soleimani in January 2020, Mousavi opined that the United States lacked the “courage to initiate” a conflict with Iran.

Mousavi stated in April 2023 that Israel was "too small to be considered a threat to the Islamic Republic of Iran,” as reported by Middle East Monitor. In May 2025 Mousavi dismissed comments by Israeli officials on Iran as "bluster", and said that "the Israeli leadership lacks the capacity to harm the greatness of Iran."

Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces On 13 June 2025, Supreme Leader of Iran Ali Khamenei appointed Mousavi as the chief of staff of the armed forces, following the killing of Mousavi's predecessor Mohammad Bagheri in the Twelve-Day War.

Sanctions In March 2023, Mousavi was sanctioned by the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) for serious human rights abuses. It said that, in both the 2019–2020 Iranian protests and the 2022–2023 Mahsa Amini protests, troops under Mousavi's command "used machine guns to fire indiscriminately into crowds of protestors". He was also listed on sanctions lists of the European Union, United Kingdom, and Australia for serious human rights abuses.

Death On 1 March 2026, Iranian state television announced that Mousavi had been killed during the 2026 Iran war. It was reported that he had been killed along with the Ayatollah and the defense minister Aziz Nasirzadeh in the Ayatollah's office.

Awards and honours On 10 March 2024, Mousavi was awarded an Order of Fath medal by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei for "improving the defence, combat, and deterrence power" of the Iranian armed forces.