Kioumars Pourhashemi

Kioumars Pourhashemi (; died 28 November 2024), also known by his nom de guerre Haji Hashem, was an Iranian military officer in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). He served as an IRGC military advisor to the Syrian Arab Army during the Syrian civil war, and was killed in action shortly before the Battle of Aleppo of 2024.

History Pourhashemi was an Iranian IRGC military officer who had served in the Iran–Iraq War of the 1980s. By 2024, he had become an officer in the IRGC's special force for external operations, the Quds Force and was serving as an Iranian military advisor to Syria. At the time, he was reportedly the leading Iranian advisor in the country.

As a result of his importance, Pourhashemi attended a high-level meeting of pro-government commanders on 28 November 2024 when the Syrian opposition initiated large-scale offensives across northwestern Syria. The meeting rapidly deteriorated when Pourhashemi questioned the loyalty of a number of Syrian Arab Army officers after they complained about the poor state of their units. Those present knew that this killing would be disruptive for the pro-government forces' morale, The IRGC-affiliated Tasnim News Agency just said he was killed by "Takfiri terrorists." His demise reportedly encouraged several more mutinies among Syrian Arab Army troops and loyalist militias. Most notably, the Baqir Brigade's troops stood aside and outright defected to the rebels.