Hassan Tehrani Moghaddam

Hassan Tehrani Moghaddam (29 October 1959 – 12 November 2011) was an Iranian military officer in the IRGC Aerospace Forces and designer of Iran's ballistic missile project. He was the chief of the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. He founded Iran's long-range missile program and sought the expertise and blueprint designs from North Korea in order to help develop Iran's missile technology. He designed the Shahab, Ghadr and Sejjil missiles with an operational range of more than 1,000–2,000 kilometres to target Israel. He graduated from high school in 1977. Hassan Tehrani Moghadam studied at two associate degrees at the Islamic Revolution Vocational Technical College and a bachelor's degree in foundry industries at Shahid Rajaee Teacher Training University. He first completed his associate degree in 1980 and his bachelor's degree in 1995 at these universities.

Before the 1979 Iranian revolution, Moghaddam was proficient in constructing homemade bombs. Later, as protests intensified against the Shah, he joined a militia group in Gilan that was involved in armed struggle against the government. Mostafa Izadi, a commander in the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution and close friend of Moghaddam said, "Since 1984 [Moghaddam] pioneered the IRGC's ground to ground missile system ... the work which has so frightened the world's imperialist powers and the Zionist regime today." The Sejjil replaced the Shahab liquid-fueled ballistic missiles. According to US Pentagon sources, the missile profile of the Sejjil closely matches those of the Ashura (Ghadr-110) and Samen missiles. The Sejjil launch tests on 13 November 2008 displayed an operational range of 2,000–2,500 kilometers. Subsequent to this Moghaddam was the chief designer of the Shahab, Ghadr, and Sejjil missiles. including Tehrani Moghaddaam. Those who died are known as the "Shahidan Ghadir".

After the explosion, initial reports indicated that it had happened at a CNG station, but this was later denied. Iranian officials said that the blast at the missile base was an accident, and ruled out any sabotage organized by the United States and its regional allies.

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